How To Probably Get Some
by americanbread
Summary: Now a freshman in college, John "Fang" Karas is ready for a clean slate when it comes to relationships. And he needs an intro to Girls 101. So who better to ask than his best friend, Max, even if she's boyish?
1. Chapter 1

**As far as I know, no one has done this yet. So here goes nothing.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR.**

* * *

College, as far as Fang was concerned, was no more different than high school. Teachers still judged you, parents still judged you, students still judged you. The only thing that was better was that you got to have classes past eight in the morning.

For the next four years, he was on his own with no one to help him get through but his best friend. But who said she was _always_ going to be there? Besides the proof that she always backed him up for the past four years? This was a whole new world, and he wasn't sure how it would change both of them.

"Are you sure you can drive out on your own?" His mother asked worriedly. She was always like that. At one point, she was worried that he was gay when the only girl who came to visit was Max, and she was just his friend. If only his mother knew how far from gay he really was.

"It's cool, Mom." He replied, wrapping his arms around her in an awkward hug. "Everything's already at the dorms."

Fang was mostly a man of few words. The only times he wouldn't count them was when he was talking to his mom, because his mom would worry and think he was turning mute or something. Other than that, he was good at keeping quiet. But now, since he was going to have a new identity, maybe he would try and start talking more.

Or maybe not.

He gave his goodbyes for the day and got into his car. As he drove away, he could see his parents waving at the rearview mirror. Fang was an only child, and so that left the house to Mr. and Mrs. Karas. It wasn't like it was going to be quieter anyway.

It was about time he got to leave the town. Even if the university he was going to was only an hour or two away. His high school history and reputation was not that tainted, as one would expect. In fact, he had the same routine every single day. But that was until the end of junior year, when he managed to change. And even if he did, the way people saw him didn't.

So he was _very, very_ glad for the clean slate college life was offering.

Deep inside, he was worrying if there were any other people from his high school that enrolled there. As far as he knew, only he and Max got accepted. He didn't want anyone he knew go around campus and spread things about him that were unfortunately true and ruin the fresh start he was supposed to claim.

While he drove, his phone rang, signaling a message. It lit up, and the text on the screen announced that it was from Max. He decided to ignore it, hoping that she got there early in true Martinez- Ride fashion and sped up a little.

Okay, so maybe he was a bit too excited when it came to starting over.

* * *

Max was not very fond of people questioning her nickname. Like when people asked her why she didn't use her real name, Maxine, to clear things up that she was a straight girl. Especially during situations like these.

"Yes, ma'am. I clearly remember putting 'Maxine' on the form, because it's my real name. Just because I mentioned in the essay that I like it when people call me 'Max' does not mean I am a lesbian." She told the officer behind the desk. She and her dad were sitting on the other side. After that tiny bit of the essay got through the offices, some dumbass probably got the idea that she was a lesbian and might cause disturbance if she was going to be placed in the girls' dorms.

She wasn't a lesbian. But she was boy- ish. She liked boys, not girls. And even though the simple jeans and t-shirt she wore everyday might've told otherwise, she was a girl. Just not a girly- girl.

"Mrs. Martinez- Ride, you may now leave if you like, and your father and I will find a way to resolve this issue and get you a room in one of the dorms." The woman said. With a grunt, she walked out of the office and headed towards the parking lot to get her things. On the way there, she checked her messages. None from Fang.

As she unlocked her father's car, she felt the back of her neck prickle. He was here.

"Quit breathing, will you?" She said.

That made the corner of his lip turn up a little. It was an inside joke they shared. Back on the first day of high school, when Max was the new kid, she was fixing books in her assigned locker when she got the same feeling. She quickly turned around and came face to face with Fang and quickly snapped, "Will you quit that?"

He had answered, "Quit what? Breathing?" In the calm manner he had. When they became friends, he still appeared behind her silently and then she would always say that. And he liked it, no matter how corny it was.

"I got your text." He replied, holding up his phone. "Where's your dad?"

"Still inside, fighting for my right for some decent lodging." She said, opening the car door and slumping at the edge of the driver's seat. "You can start helping me move my stuff later."

"But didn't your dad say Dylan was supposed to help you?" He asked, referring to her twin brother, who was also going to be his roommate.

"Well, he already crashed in your room." She replied. "He told dad that he'd help me later, but I highly doubt that."

He sat down on the floor next to her seat. "Promise me that if your dad ever wins that argument, you'll set me up with your roommate?"

She smacked him upside the head. "I thought you said you were going to make a fresh start here."

He grinned. "Well what's wrong with 'meeting new people'?"

* * *

"Thank God my roommate hasn't arrived yet." Max declared out loud as she put her luggage on the bed by the window. "Or else I would have spent the next two hours lugging all my stuff while you flirt with some blonde- haired, blue- eyed chick."

"But wouldn't that be easier for you?" Fang asked as he dragged a mini fridge into the room. "You wouldn't have to make an effort with setting me and your roommate up anymore." He added, which earned him another smack upside the head.

Max's new room was pretty wide, thanks to the administration being humiliated about the little dorm fiasco. There was a lot of space between the door and the two beds, enough for two desks and two closets. She, of course, chose the side by the window because the amount of sunlight going through was easier to manipulate than how loud the door was going to be opened.

Once all of her stuff got into place, and she had unpacked all of her clothes, they retrieved two cans of coke from the mini fridge and sat across each other on the space between the two beds.

"Cheers to the fact that you are now far enough to not annoy me all the time." Max said as the two cans clanked.

"Cheers to the fact that I may now change everything I need to change for me to become remotely likeable." Fang replied as he opened his can and took a sip.

"What's your game plan anyway? Especially if you don't manage to score my roommate, which is for the best, anyway."

"Still don't have one. I mean, I don't exactly have someone to turn to, and no way am I going to ask Dylan, seeing as he hasn't been in any serious relationships throughout high school. But right now, I am aiming for an intro to Girls 101."

"What, like an intro class? I thought no one ever took intro classes seriously?"

"Well, maybe more than an intro class. But right now I'll settle for that."

"And who's going to help you with that? It'll take a lot of persuasion for anyone here to be immediate friends with you and teach you as soon as possible."

"Who said I had to do that? You're going to teach me."

Even if there was some coke in her mouth, she forced a swallow instead of spitting it out like she normally would. "You do know that I am not that kind of girly, right?" She asked.

He shrugged in reply. "But you're still a girl. You still get PMS and cramps and stuff like that. You still have a tendency to fall for guys, and you know all about girl's fetishes and stuff."

"Dude, no offense, but even if I knew all those stuff, there is no way I'm going to tell you about _fetishes_ in that kind of manner. It just sounds totally wrong."

"So you're saying you can help me, just not about the fetish part?"

"No. I _can't _help you in general."

"Arm wrestling match?" He asked.

She grinned, knowing that she always won when it came to arm wrestling. "Best out of three." She announced. Beating Fang would be a piece of cake.

But she got that one wrong.

Three arm wrestling matches later, with three consecutive wins by Fang, she realized that he must've gotten stronger over the summer. She sneaked a glance at his biceps, and sure enough, they were more muscular than before.

She sighed. "Okay, fine. But here's a disclaimer: I'm not sure it'll be a hundred, much less more than one, percent effective."

He smiled, satisfied. "It's better than nothing."

* * *

"Hey, Dyl, wake up. I'm guessing you need to be fed."

That was not the first time Fang had attempted to wake Max's brother up. There were a couple of times way back when he either needed something for him or when Max dared him to. It wasn't exactly easy, since Dylan slept when he could. Sometimes even in class, though thanks to the back rows, he was rarely caught. So far, the mention of food was the only technique Fang could come up with.

"Get up, Dylan." Fang tried again, nudging his face with the toe of his sneaker. "Max promised to get us some pizza if you wake up in time."

Dylan slowly opened his eyes, and then pushed back Fang's foot. "Dude, I'm sleeping." He mumbled, adding a few choice words at the end. "Can't you just tell her to bring it over here?"

"I'm not sure about that."

"Just tell her. I'm pretty sure she knows that I haven't had any decent sleep in the past forty- eight hours." He grunted, and then went back to sleep.

Fang made the call, and oddly enough, Max agreed to bringing the pizza there. That probably meant that she was pissed, since she wasn't one to do favors for Dylan.

Once she got inside and put the box down, she charged towards Dylan's bed, grabbed the blankets, and quickly jerked the bed away from the wall, so her brother, who was close to the edge, would fall into the abyss of dust bunnies. That woke him up immediately.

"Time for dinner." She said, her arms crossed in an I'm- such- a- bad- ass manner with a smirk on her face.

"What the hell?" He asked, throwing a pillow at her. She quickly stepped aside and watched as it hit the wall.

Fang was used to seeing them like that. The technique Max used to wake him up was new to him, but it was always the same thing: him throwing a pillow and her dodging it.

"Get up." Fang said. "You don't want the pizza to get cold."

Mumbling something under his breath, Dylan trudged across the room and helped himself to a slice.

"So," he said in between bites. "You have any new tactics?"

"I'm over it, Dylan." Fang replied, ignoring the way he raised his eyebrow's suggestively.

"Yeah. He's so much over it that he's actually asking _me_ of all people to help him get into a relationship." Max chimed in.

Dylan took one glance at him and laughed. "What happened to you over the summer?" He asked.

"You mean, _two_ summers ago." Fang corrected.

"Well two summers ago, you weren't asking Max for relationship advice." Dylan said, still trying to control his laughter.

Max looked at him. "I told you that having me teach you about girls was a bad idea."

He snorted. "You also told me that I could never beat you at arm wrestling. And look how that turned out." He replied.

That shut Max up for the remainder of the topic.

* * *

"Sweet rooftop you guys have here." Max said as the cold evening air blew through her locks. The two of them decided to check it out after hearing an older student talk about it.

"I'm pretty sure it's just the guys' way of taking the girl out on a date without spending much." He said, eyeing the wooden table and chairs that were tucked in a roofed corner.

Max eyed him suspiciously. "Since when did you become so chatty? You should've surpassed your limit hours ago."

"Fresh start, remember?"

"Are you sure that's going to help?" She asked. He merely shrugged in reply.

"I think you're being a bit too over the top." She added, sitting on a bench provided. It showed good view of the town. No wonder it was placed like that. "I understand what you're trying to do and all, but are you really this desperate that you're turning to _me_ for 'Girls 101'?"

He sat down right next to her. "Yeah, you could say I'm paranoid. But Max, this is pretty much the perfect scenario. It's just you and Dylan who know about the outrageously stupid stuff I've done, and I'm sure neither of you are in any mood to spread it all over campus. Plus, you're my best friend. You'll know how to teach me basics. Even you telling what you know about girls based on yourself is better than nothing."

"Your long speeches are getting to me. If I was your mom, I would be really worrying by now."

He shrugged again.

"You know, Fang, even when I wasn't your best friend, or your friend, for that matter, I didn't think you were a horrible person. Well I did think you were really stupid with no actual sense of humor, but it had nothing to do with it."

Silence.

"And no, I'm not saying this because as the best friend, it's my job to make you feel better. But if it helps, I'm still laughing deep inside about all the outrageously stupid things you've done today."

"Like what?"

"Besides the 'Girls 101' thing, you know that Dylan sort of thought you were trying to seduce him or something."

"He never said anything."

"He's my twin brother. We have that telepathic stuff going on. And did you see his face when you mentioned the pizza?"

"What about it?"

"You know that Dylan always uses pizza and sex in analogies." She said. Then, without any warning, she suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, which made her look and sound weird.

Fang rolled his eyes and punched her in the arm.

"At first he thought that you were…" She said, still giggling.

"He had just woken up." He reasoned.

"But still, you could tell that Dylan was obviously creeped out by the way his eyes bulged out."

"Shut up." He said, hitting her arm again. He didn't find it funny at all. Max was like that sometimes: there were moments that you'd see her laughing at something that didn't appear hilarious, like she had somehow found a joke within it. Either that, or she found something extremely ridiculous and sexual in it.

That was Max, and whether he had liked it or not, Fang had stuck with her all throughout high school. And he was planning to do the same for the next four years.

* * *

**So, whaddya think?**

**I apologize if this is really messy, because I didn't have an exact plan on what to write and just typed it out.**

**(Also, I made Dylan her brother, because when I first read FANG, I imagined him as a hotter, male version of Max and not a Justin Bieber look-alike.)**

**So, do you think I should continue with this? Tell me in the reviews =D.**

**See ya in an indefinite number of days =D.**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR.**

* * *

"Dude, I may be bad at relationship advice, but I'm way better than my sister."

Those were the very words Dylan had told him last night, right after Max left. And those were the very words that were going over his mind again and again, for no important cause.

Fang found no reason to be nervous. And yet, he was. The fact that he was able to sleep last night was ignored, even if before that he still couldn't stop thinking about his reputation. And he somehow couldn't stop thinking about Max, either, but not in _that _way. After all, she was his best friend.

Maybe his decision to start "Girls 101" was a bit too soon. Max did have a point; she wasn't that kind of girly to easily figure out what girls of his interest would be. She did know his interests, but the problem was on how he was going to deal with the girl.

He had woken up in a tangle of earphones, his head turned so that he was facing Dylan's already made bed. Just that made him think of his best friend, which made him think of that day's agenda. Even if she had dated a couple of guys in high school, she was no relationship master. He hoped Max wasn't too pressured or anything, since she possibly couldn't have enough time to actually know what to teach. Had she even taken it seriously?

Of course she did. Like he told himself, she was his best friend.

Maybe he'd be good enough to not need that much lessons. Or maybe his future girlfriend would be easy enough to figure out. Heck, maybe he could do it on his own. But he couldn't afford to think like that, because he wanted to start over so badly that he didn't even want to take chances.

He didn't know that a couple of buildings away, that was exactly what Max was thinking of.

She knew that Fang was depending on her. He had made so many mentions of clean slates all summer long that the only thing left to do was have him post it on Twitter, if he ever had an account. She knew that Fang was desperate, seeing that he was going as far as giving her long speeches. And that made her pace around the room, her brain going blank with nothing but _what to do, what to do, what to do, what to do, what to do_.

What was she going to do? There was no teacher's manual for this. Maybe there was a manual, but it probably belonged somewhere in the self- help section, where other people decoded the pages by themselves rather than have someone else do it for them.

She was so busy pacing and stressing out that she didn't notice that it woke her roommate up.

"You know, I can still hear you pace even if you're barefoot." She told her. She sounded tired, and even looked the part. Max couldn't blame her. She had arrived past midnight, from somewhere that required more than a five hour drive to get here.

"Sorry." Max mumbled in reply and sat down on the bed.

"Something bothering you?" She asked, sitting up and fumbling around for her glasses. She knew that her roommate wore contacts and that the glasses were just an emergency thing, since she saw her put them in a container last night.

Great. She was so stressed out that she had started thinking of irrelevant details.

"It's a favor I need to do for my best friend. And I'm not really sure if I could do it."

"Maybe I could help you."

"Thanks. But I think you should go back to sleep, you seem pretty beat."

She yawned. "Sounds like a great idea," she replied, and collapsed back on her bed.

* * *

"You're still not changing your mind?" Dylan asked as he watched Fang prepare to leave. "No offense to my sister here, but I know that you know that deep inside, there's also a part of you that's thinking it's ridiculous."

Fang shrugged. "Can't lead the girl on." He replied.

"How very unlike you. But then again, this is Max."

"Don't worry. I'll know who to turn to when all else fails." Fang said, and headed for the door.

"Fang,"

"Yeah?"

"This is my sister we're talking about. If you will do anything that will upset and- or make her mad, you'll be facing both our wraths."

His speech sounded like the type that was supposed to be given by protective older brothers on the first date, which was sort of odd since Max was actually older by three and a half minutes. But Fang understood that the measures were kind of appropriate, since Max had no expertise whatsoever on girly girls, and everyone knew that she had a habit of panicking about things she didn't know, even if it wasn't so obvious on the outside.

Fang smiled a bit. "I'll keep that in mind."

He made his way through the stretch of road that was for dorms, his mind blank on possibilities on what Max would start with. When he reached one of the many buildings that were the girls' dorms, he felt a bit too exposed even if he wasn't the only guy there, since there were older brothers and fathers and boyfriends that helped carry stuff up to the rooms. It felt weird knocking on the only door on the whole floor that was shut when all the others were opened, being filled with students' possessions.

A blonde- haired, blue- eyed girl opened the door. She was obviously Max's roommate, and she had that look that only long, sleepless roadtrips gave you.

"Oh hey," she said, fully opening the door and motioning for him to step in. Max was sitting on a desk chair, probably surfing the web.

"Why does it feel like you're Googling 'how to pick up chicks'?" He asked, sitting down on Max's bed.

"Very funny," she said and showed him the screen which displayed her email inbox. "Oh, and Fang, that's Angel, my roommate. Angel, my best friend, or as he calls himself, 'the hottest asshole in the world', Fang."

They shook hands. "I don't call myself that. Or not always, anyway. And is it me, or do you look younger?" He asked in a tone that was meant for questions and not compliments.

"Fourteen." She replied, blushing a little. "I'm sort of what you'd probably call a 'child prodigy'."

Max turned to Fang and gave him a look that said _she is obviously off- limits_.

He nodded, a message which was both for Angel and Max. "You got here last night?"

"Yeah. It was a really long drive, too. Must be really obvious by the face. But I'll be okay once I get my hands on some coffee."

"She has a brother who's a freshman, too." Max said, shutting down her laptop.

"Well, that must be tough on him." Fang replied.

Angel shrugged. "Nah. He seems fine with it, since I help him with his experiments a lot of times."

"And those experiments are?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He'll find out soon enough." She said, turning to Fang.

"O- kay." He said, not sure if that was supposed to be good or bad. "Well, Max, we should go. Nice meeting you, Angel."

She smiled at Fang, which gave him the feeling that she knew something. Like the key to his getting a girl or something.

She probably did.

* * *

"Do you think we should go off campus or something?" Max asked as the cold autumn air greeted them.

"What, you ashamed of being with me?" He teased.

"Well, seeing as I have to do this," she stopped and then smacked him upside the head. "I guess I am." She replied in the same teasing manner.

He punched him in the arm in reply. That was their way: her targeting his head and him targeting her arm. "I know a place."

The place he apparently knew was actually a bridge. It was the kind that would swing along when a person would cross, since it was supported with ropes. Neither knew what it was called. But it was only made for people, and people rarely needed to go to the other side. Plus, it overlooked a river, which had a nice touch to it.

"I'm assuming you noticed this on your way to the university." Max said as she sat down near the edge. The place was surrounded with trees, but the wide path they used was cleared off, and it provided some view of the highway.

"Yep," He replied, sitting down beside her. "So, what's the 'course outline'?"

She shrugged. "I didn't really have a syllabus and all that stuff planned out. Like maybe I'd teach you certain stuff only when you need it."

"Well, that sounds good." He said, and took out a small, pocket sized notebook.

"Wait, since when did you take notes?"

He shrugged. "Since now."

"You never even took notes in class."

"But it was _class_." He said, emphasizing on the last word. "And anyway, you'll never know if I start to this year."

She sighed and looked ahead, trying to figure out what to teach first. "Well, to get a relationship, you need to get a girl."

"Yeah," he said writing something down on his notebook and motioning for her to go on.

"But since you really want a stable relationship, I guess you'd have to pick the right one. You can't just depend on the love at first sight thing, because I'm pretty sure that it doesn't already mean she's your soul mate. Well, maybe you could, but you should at least get to know the most important things about her, too. Like her name. And her major. And all the other stuff that you'd need to know so you could add her on Facebook. And then you have to know what she thinks about the stuff you like the most, like which Star Wars movie is her favorite. Or if she knows the difference between Linkin Park and Simple Plan, stuff like that."

"And what if she thinks differently?"

She shrugged. "If that happens, then you'd have to depend on your instinct, on whether it's the start of something good or not."

"Can I already get her number?"

"If you want to stalk to the ends of the earth, then don't call her immediately. And if you want to directly ask her, just make sure both of you feel a bit close to each other."

He closed the notebook. "When do I start? Do I have to go around campus, or do I have to wait until the first day?"

"There's this orientation party thing going on later, remember?" She asked. He remembered a flyer or two about a party posted on the bulletin at his dorm, but was in no interest to read it.

"I'll be starting there?"

"Yeah. I already know a lot of the girls on my floor from helping them move in, and I'm pretty sure they'll be glad to meet you." She said, raising an eyebrow in an almost suggestive manner.

* * *

Max and Fang were pretty neutral when it came to parties. They weren't the type to get wasted around a sea of people every night. And they rarely danced, too. The two of them mostly focused on drinking coke or a bottle or two of beer. Then they'd talk to the other people who weren't interested in dancing, and left when they didn't feel like hanging out anymore.

That night, Fang was willing to stay until early morning as long as he found the right girl. Though he did have doubts on whether Max was willing to stay up with him.

"Oh, hey, I see them." Max said over the music. She motioned towards a large cluster of girls sitting on the floor, drinking and chatting with each other. Fang tried to take a closer look at them, but there were too many people passing through. He gave up and followed Max, who was already walking towards the group.

"Hey, Max!" Some of the girls squealed upon seeing her. The others turned and waved, then scooted over to make space.

"Hey," she replied, and then waved Fang to come over. He sat down between Max and Angel, and took a quick glance. The girls weren't exactly the best looking he'd seen, but they were definitely pretty in their own ways.

"Girls, this is Fang. Fang, the girls." Max said, and everyone begun saying their names, as if on roll call. The blonde girl with ten different colors in her hair was Maya. The tall one was Tess. The girl with huge eyes and mocha skin was Nudge. The Asian was Kate. The redhead was Brigid. And the rest, he couldn't exactly remember.

"I'm actually a sophomore," Brigid had said after introducing herself. "I just switched schools."

"Where's your cousin?" Nudge asked Brigid.

"Trying to escape again." She replied, and called out to a girl who also had flaming red hair. And she was pretty, too. Her hair color somewhat accentuated her pale skin, and she had decided to show her legs with a skirt. It wasn't the short kind that said _easy_, nor was it the really long type that said _I might be prude_.

"She's Lissa." Brigid said as the girl neared the circle. She shyly pulled down on the hem of her skirt and sat beside her cousin. "Freshman."

Lissa smiled. "Target acquired." Fang whispered in a voice so low that only Max could hear it.

"So, Max," Nudge said after the introduction, "have you two been dating since high school?"

Both of them groaned inwardly. It was the very much dreaded boy- and- girl- who- are- best- friends question.

"He's my best friend." Max replied for both of them. "And even if we weren't, I would never date him."

Fang did a mental face- palm. "Are you trying to cock- block me?" He asked again in the same volume.

Max smiled a bit, and then, in the loudest possible voice, replied. "Of course I'm not cock- blocking you." Which made all the girls, and possibly some guys a few feet away, laugh. He groaned. But then he saw Max giving Angel a look, and he knew that she was as focused on the mission as he was.

"Hey, Lissa, do you mind switching places?" Angel asked her. "I feel really cold here."

The excuse was lame, but seeing that Angel was the youngest, and compared to everyone else in the room she was practically a kid, Lissa stood up and took her place beside Fang.

"I'm Fang." He said.

"Lissa, but I guess you already know that."

"I guess I do. What are you majoring in?"

"Math."

"That's cool, I'm Math, too."

He might've been over reacting, but even if he only knew her name and her major, he knew.

She was the "right girl".

* * *

"So, Lissa."

The morning after the party, Max and Fang went out to get some coffee and headed back to the bridge for some post- mission discussion.

"What, are you saying that it's the wrong choice?" He asked, a sort of defensive tone in his voice.

"I don't even know her yet." She replied, and it somewhat calmed him down. "I doubt that I know more about Lissa than you do. And what do you know, by the way?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much. Her first name, her major, which is math, by the way."

"That's it?"

He nodded.

"But you guys were practically inseparable the whole night."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we talked. Once the music got louder, both of us gave up and decided to have a contest on who could spot the most ridiculous outfit first. I guess that's one thing I know about her."

"Maybe that means she's fun."

"So what are you going to teach me next?"

"You haven't even done enough to get to the next level. What, are you waiting around for the first day of school or something? Do the two of you even have the same schedule?"

He shrugged again. "I was hoping that we could do some background research on her."

"That's stalking, Fang. I'm pretty sure she doesn't appreciate that type. It would be better if you just ran around campus until you bumped into her."

"Should I?"

"I don't think she's planning on leaving the dorms today, as far as I know she arrived last night and is just planning on moving in today."

"So maybe I could help her."

"She's not in the same building as I am."

"Then I'll wander around until I bump into her while she's dragging her stuff to her room."

Max tilted her head to one side. "Lissa really had that 'love at first sight' effect on you, didn't she?"

They stopped talking for a minute and she was almost worried that he'd gotten mad at him. She didn't mean for that comment to sound mean. She didn't hate Lissa. Heck, Lissa hadn't really made enough of an impression for Max to figure out if she was nice or not.

But Fang had probably taken it seriously, like he was doing with almost everything. And for some reason besides that they were best friends, she didn't want him to get upset. She had never seen him upset over a girl.

"Tell you what. Let's go back there, and you run around until you see Lissa, and then offer to help her carry her stuff. Then you get to know that girl until the two of you trade numbers and become friends on Facebook."

"That was really the plan wasn't it?" He asked, and she nodded in reply.

They went back to campus and Max headed back to the dorms, possibly to get more rest or to help other girls move in, leaving Fang to run around. He eventually found her, carrying two boxes, the strap of a large duffel bag resting on her shoulder.

"Let me help you with that." He said, and without waiting for an answer, took the two boxes out of her arms.

"You're Fang, right?" She asked, once he had moved it aside enough for her to see his face.

"My name's not that hard to forget, isn't it?" He said, flashing his best grin.

"Yeah, I guess it is." She replied. "Oh and let me take the other one." She added, taking the lighter box.

He hoped that meant she wanted to see his face and talk with him on the way.

And he didn't know it yet, but she did.

* * *

**So… sorry about that last part being messy. Actually, I'm pretty sure the whole chapter is. Messy, I mean.**

**(Also, what was your favorite part in **_**The Avengers**_**?)**

**Well, does anyone know his "dark past" yet? (Because at first I thought it was pretty obvious.) I can't really say it, because it's sort of important to the story.**

**I have nothing else to say. Do you mind reviewing? I need an opinion on my writing (especially when it's the 2:30AM - drunk on chocolate milk type, like this one).**

**And yeah, I feel really OOC right now.**

**See you in an indefinite number of days.**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR.**

* * *

"Now can you tell me about what happened?" Max asked as they went at their usual spot at the bridge.

The encounter with Lissa had been days ago. And still he couldn't stop thinking about her. How she was strong enough to lug around her own stuff but weak enough to have Fang help her. How she didn't break a sweat even when Fang could feel it threatening to attack his forehead. How she was really beautiful even when she had her back to him and was kneeling down to place something at a drawer.

He was desperate to spend more time with her, as much as he somehow hated to admit it.

"You know, the usual." He replied, trying not to sound as eager as possible. He hated sounding like that, mainly because he didn't sound like that when it came to matters about girls before.

"What do you mean by 'the usual'?" She asked with an eyebrow raised?

"The usual stuff that happens when you're helping someone move in." He said. And that was pretty much it. He liked spending time with her and getting to know her more via her stuff, but it felt a bit empty since they didn't exactly engage in "getting to know you better" conversation. The afternoon was mainly spent with him asking where he should put down boxes and furniture, and her pointing out those spots.

"Oh. So basically, you still know nothing about her, except where her room is. That was pretty much an opportunity wasted, you know."

He shrugged. "We did sit back with some root beer after it was done. Plus, we traded numbers."

"So it's her first name, her major, her room, and her number? Fang, I've seen you do better." She replied. And as much as he once again hated to admit it, what Max said was true.

"I'm taking this slow. But I do know that she sort of has an addiction to mix CDs." He said. "I saw that she had about fifty of those."

"So make her one when you can finally have a decent chance to go on a date with her."

He nodded. "Max, I've been thinking, when are you going to teach me how to play the guitar?"

Between the two of them, Max had better musical skills. Sure, they both couldn't sing their way out of a paper bag, but she was one up because she knew how to play the guitar _and_ the piano.

"What for?"

"So I can get laid."

Max snorted. Back in high school, Fang didn't need musical skills to get laid, because after all, he wasn't the "hottest asshole in the world" for nothing. "If you are not careful, I will push you off this bridge."

"Then I'll be thankful that I know how to swim."

"Just because she has an addiction to mix CDs doesn't mean she'll swoon over you teaching her how to do a g- sharp." Max said.

"So, no guitar lessons. For now, at least?"

"I'll think about it."

"Well, can you teach me about the inner workings of PMS?"

She snorted again. "And I thought you were more exposed to media than I was." She said.

"But you'll never know if I accidentally step into 'the warzone'."

She thought about it for a moment. "PMS is hard. PMS isn't just because of periods. Legend says that it also means 'Pissed at Men Syndrome'. So when a girl's pissed, it's sort of hard to tell if it's because of her cramps or because of you."

Fang thought of the times he hung out with Max. It was hard guessing what her PMS was about, or if she really had PMS at all, because she was pissed all the time. Even if he didn't see anything wrong. Or maybe it was because he didn't look hard enough back then.

"Anyway," Max added. "We'll deal about periods when you have an actual girl to deal with."

"I've always been fine dealing with you." He pointed out.

"Well, Karas, forget everything you think you know about girls in general, besides the ones I told you. Because you do not know jack."

"That's a bit comforting."

"Just remember, never tell her what you assume. Ask, and if she doesn't want to tell you, say that she can call you about it that night."

He nodded.

"Since tomorrow's the first day, I'd figure that you guys share some classes. Prepare to make your move, Karas."

"Roger that."

* * *

Unlike the past first days in high school, Fang was a bit anxious about this one. After all, back then everyone knew him because they had been his classmates since elementary.

He was very much aware of that old saying "first impressions last". But he didn't know how to put on a good first impression. When his parents introduced him to their friends, he was pretty blunt because they didn't matter to him. And everyone else important to him had known him at the time he was aware of making first impressions. Except Max. Because it was solely her decision on what to make of someone, good first impression or not. She was different like that.

All throughout the day, he spent the first few minutes of each class looking out for Lissa. He didn't bother listening to attendance, because he didn't know if Lissa was her real name or her nickname. Not to mention the lack of knowledge of her surname.

He and Max didn't share any classes, mostly because her major was Science and she had chosen to get a lot of hard classes, even if her brain wasn't the type to handle hardcore studying well. A lot of the scientific stuff in her head were ones she had learned for her mother, who was a scientist- turned- veterinarian.

So his first day was spent nonchalantly glancing around, like he was trying to take in his surroundings, even if he was secretly looking for a red- haired girl. He didn't know if that was part of his making a first impression. Maybe someone had thought that he was paranoid and was thinking that someone was following him. He still couldn't decide if he wanted to care or not. Probably because Lissa was his first priority on the first impression thing.

At one point, while walking to another building, he had crossed paths with Max. And Max, seeing that he still didn't have the air of confidence around him that said "I got the girl", bumped into him, and whispered, "Your move, Karas."

Even Max was surprised that he still hadn't managed to get the girl's attention. The problem was that he didn't know where the girl was.

And as his last class finished, he knew that he was close to defeat. He didn't know if she was still going to wander around campus thus giving him the opportunity to continue the search, or if she was going straight back to the dorms. And screw the fact that there would be tomorrow and the days after that. He didn't describe himself as desperate for no reason.

He didn't know that on her way out of her last class, Lissa had come across Angel and shyly asked her if she saw Fang. He didn't know that Angel somehow knew where she could possibly see him. He didn't know that they were both currently walking around campus, pretending to stretch their legs after hours of endless sitting when they were secretly hoping to see the one person they were starting to like- each other.

Could it get anymore chick flick- ish?

After he completed a turn around the main parts of campus, his phone rang, signaling a message from an unknown number. Because he didn't know Angel's number yet.

_Prepare for a direct hit._

He didn't know what it was supposed to mean, so he assumed that it was sent to his number by mistake. But he didn't know it wasn't; he just somehow found it to coincide with the events, because as he was exiting his phone's inbox, he did receive a direct hit. He found himself crashing down, and saw that another person had come down, too.

It was the red- haired girl he was looking for. Lissa.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, helping her fix her things. He stood up and offered his hand, then assisted Lissa in getting up. "Should've looked where I was going."

"You're not the only one." She said, her cheeks turning pink. "I should definitely pay attention to feet the next time."

"Me too, I guess." He said, managing to flash his best grin amidst his nervousness. And it worked, because Lissa grinned at him in reply, showing her perfect teeth, and it was just so glorious.

"Hey, you're a math major, right?" She asked. "That's weird; I've only seen you now."

"I'm very good at hiding." He said.

"Good for you. Because this-" She said, holding up a clump of her red hair. "Just stands out too much."

He shrugged. "I like it."

"That's sweet of you."

"So, do you, like, want to walk around or something?"

She smiled and then shrugged. "I've got nothing else to do, so why not?"

* * *

They didn't actually walk around; instead they looked for a tree that had plenty of shade and sat down beside its trunk, careful not to be too close to each other.

"You know, whenever Brigid makes me come to parties, I just always hang back, and then I'd try to make up some random life stories about the people that pass by."

"So, that guy in the frat sweatshirt. What kind of stuff does he secretly collect?"

"I'd say those tiny perfume strips, and he still doesn't throw them away after the scent disappears. How about that girl over there wearing glasses? What's her worst habit?"

"Talking like a little kid whenever her parents are around."

She giggled a bit, the kind that said _I'm having fun and I'm not trying to flirt with you or anything, but I'm still making this a bit flirtatious just in case_. That was his favorite kind. "Not bad for a beginner."

"What can I say? I'm starting to get a hang of this. The guy playing _Wonderwall_ by Oasis on his guitar. What was the best thing he ever learned?"

"How to play enough guitar to get him laid." She said, referring to the three or four girls surrounding him, singing along. "Sometimes being musically talented to attract girls is a bit old."

"What, you're saying you're not interested in musical types?"

"Not really, it's just that I prefer someone who's musical because he likes music. Not someone who wants to learn how to play one song so he can get chicks."

Fang made a mental note to cancel the possible guitar and piano lessons, just in case Lissa discovered the real motive.

"So, Fang's not your real name, huh?"

"Is Lissa not your real name?"

"Alyssa Strud."

"John Karas."

"Where did you get 'Fang' then?"

"Max just gave it to me."He replied. It was once again those history- changing stories back in high school, which often included Max.

"_Why does everyone call you Karas?"_

_It was the middle of their agreed tutoring session, maybe sometime during their sophomore year. Fang was willing to give her a hand on Math, if she promised to help him with English and a bit of Science._

"_Because John is a bit ordinary, and you know I'm not ordinary, Maxine." He replied with a teasing voice. He knew Max hated being called by her real name. A glare alone had the whole school calling her Max by the second day of school._

_She gave him a sweet smile that in her world translated to, _I will kill you in your sleep if you say that one more time_. "Well it makes you sound like some bully or something, which doesn't exactly fit you. Maybe I should give you a new nickname."_

"_And how would you give me a nickname?" He asked. To be a bit honest, he sort of liked being called by his last name; it gave people the impression that he was a guy to be feared. "You've failed before." He added, referring to the two nicknames that Max first gave him but then went out: Mr. Rock and Emo Guy. Not very creative._

_Max reached into her backpack and pulled out a pocket dictionary. "We'll let the fates decide."_

_Before he could ask how Max would plan on using the dictionary, she closed her eyes, flipped through the pages a couple of times, and then settled on one. She took a deep breath and pointed to a random spot._

"FANG, noun - a sharp tooth." _Max read out loud. "How blunt. Matches you, actually."_

"_I don't think I'd look like a Fang to you. Or to anyone, for that matter." He said. At the moment, 'Fang' didn't really sound like an appealing nickname._

"_I can't avoid to tempt fate by disrespecting its decision. So Fang it shall be. I declare it thus and hence."_

"_That wouldn't last for a month."_

"_You want to bet on it? It's on, _Fang_." She said, holding out her hand. "Twenty bucks says that this lasts longer than a month."_

"_A deal it is." He said, shaking her hand. And then they went back to tutoring each other, Max still calling him by his new nickname._

_She called him Fang the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that. After four and a half weeks, a friend or two other than Max also started calling him Fang. So one month after the 'ceremony' that christened him as Fang, Max was twenty bucks richer._

* * *

"Word has gotten around that you have found a redhead. Nice pick." Dylan said as he entered their room.

"Very funny. Max told you, didn't she?"

He nodded. "What, the redhead's a friend?"

"Hopefully not."

"So you guys haven't kissed?"

"Not yet. It's only the first day."

"That was something you didn't tell me back in high school. But I like the way you make it sound. Of course, you won't fail with that."

"Maybe."

"What's up with the 'maybe'?"

Dylan was very aware that Fang had changed, but he was pretty sure that all his past skills were tucked somewhere in his mind's attic, ready to go into action if he needed it again.

"Nothing. You got the food?"

He showed Fang a paper bag with a Chinese restaurant's logo. "The best and cheapest I could find."

The two boys were silent for a few minutes, reclaiming the energy that had been drained by eight or so hours of listening to professors drone on about requirements.

"You have classes with Max, right?" Fang asked, even if he already knew the answer.

"Do you have classes with the redhead? What's her name, anyway?"

"I don't know, and her name's Lissa. You met anyone interesting?"

"A few."

"Who's the target?"

He shrugged. "Still gathering options. It's only the first day, you know."

"That was something you didn't tell me back in high school."

"You said you changed."

"Never mind. How about Max? News on her?"

He shrugged. "I haven't caught her yet. Either not in our shared class, or none yet."

Sometimes it felt like a crime to gossip about Max. But it was mostly just him and Dylan to talk about her, and most, if not all he said about her was true. So it wasn't exactly rumors they were talking about.

"Does she even plan on having a college love life?"

"She's a girl. In college."

"She's Max."

"Trust me pal; we're twins. We have that telepathic stuff going on."

After they finished eating and cleaning up, Fang decided to check his Facebook, which he rarely did over the summer. There were a lot of notifications and friend requests waiting for him, but he skipped ahead to the page displaying friend requests.

One of those invitations was from Lissa Strud.

He decided to check out her profile first. It was blocked off to the people who weren't friends with her, but Fang paid most of his attention to her profile picture. It showed her with her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, with a bunch of strands hanging off at the side. The photo was from the waist up, so he could only see the hoodie she wore. She was holding a puppy, which was looking innocently at the camera.

"Adorable girl you got there." He heard Dylan say from behind.

Fang went back to the page that displayed his friend requests, and without hesitation, accepted the request. There was an explosion as he clicked on the button that would make them friends.

Literally. There was a sound that indicated something had exploded. And it was possibly from next door.

* * *

**Please be glad that I made myself get up and drag my lazy ass to the computer. I wasn't even planning to finish this until Sunday.**

**(Apparently, five reviews did encourage me, but not enough . So please, please, please, can this get to thirty? I promise to update REALLY fast.)**

**(Wow. I sounded like a whiny bitch. Not changing my mind, though.)**

**(Yeah, I still feel OOC.)**

**And oh yeah, by the way, I really need criticism right now. As in what I need to do to make this better.**

**See you in an (possibly) indefinite number of days.**

**(P.S. There are more clues about his past, you know.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Is this a FAX story? Hmm… *taps finger on chin thoughtfully***

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR.**

* * *

Fang turned to Dylan, who was probably preparing for another nap. "Did you hear that?" He asked, eyes wide.

He nodded. "Dude, it was loud as f*ck."

They waited for a minute, waiting for the fire alarm to signal. When nothing happened, they both got up and walked to the door. They opened it and were greeted with thick, green smoke and a really, really horrible smell.

"What was that?" Fang asked, closing the door.

"I think it came from a couple of doors down." Dylan said, still fanning the air. "What, you wanna take on the corridors? Brave men do attract chicks, you know."

"Dylan, two things: one, this is an all guys dorm, and two, that was probably a stink bomb, not dynamite."

"Well, I'm still heading out and choking whoever thought of this." Dylan replied. He used his shirt to cover his nose and Fang did the same. They opened the door again, but the smell had faded a bit. The smoke covered the hallway, which had stretched the whole floor. Doors opened and closed once the owners realized what was going on.

Dylan pointed to a door, and Fang looked under. The green smoke was coming out there. Miraculously, the door was unlocked and the two boys charged through it.

"What the f*ck guys!" Dylan shouted at a random direction.

Two boys appeared from the smoke, their face covered by gas masks. They took a glance at Fang and Dylan, and then burst into laughter. The taller boy turned on a fan, while the other one opened the window. The smoke disappeared in a matter of minutes, starting its attack outside the dorms.

Fang and Dylan removed their impromptu masks. "What the hell did you guys do?"

The shorter one, who was blond- haired and blue- eyed, shrugged. "Uh, set off a stink bomb?"

"A literal one, I might add." The other boy, who had strawberry- blond hair with eyes hiding behind glasses, replied. "In case you're thinking differently." To prove his point, he pointed to a bulky contraption on top of a table. A few wisps of smoke were still coming out, but were blown away by the fan.

"I thought bombs weren't allowed."

The blond one gave him a _no duh_ face. He patted the bomb with a gloved hand. "This isn't actually what you would call a fire hazard."

"Sorry guys, had to try it out." The tall one said. "So who are the two lads that have the honor of interrupting us?"

"Dylan." Fang said, pointing to his roommate, who was still fuming, and then pointed to himself. "Fang."

"Welcome to the odd nicknames club, Fang. I'm Iggy, for no apparent reason, and my partner in crime is The Gasman." He said, and The Gasman grinned and waved at the mention of his name.

"Which is because?" Dylan asked.

"He's the leading expert in his field."

"Well, I'm not going to ask what kind of gas that would be. Day names?"

"James." Iggy said.

"Alex." The Gasman followed. "How about you?" He asked Fang.

"John." He replied, and then suddenly recognized the resemblance. "You're Angel's brother, right? Fourteen- year- old Angel?"

"I am." He replied. "You know her?"

"She's my sister's roommate." Dylan said.

"A sweet girl, Angel." Iggy said, putting away the bomb and taking off his gloves. "She was kind enough to let us know which chemical to use to make the smell stronger."

"Hey, I think I remember her saying something about you." The Gasman said. "Hottest asshole in the world, right?"

Dylan looked at Fang. He shrugged. "That is one of my many uncommon nicknames." He told The Gasman.

Maybe Dylan remembered that story.

_Detention, Fang could handle. Detention with _Maxine Martinez- Ride_, well, she was desks away, but he wanted to punch her again. He was supposed to meet with some guys and a couple of new girls right now. It was just the first day of high school and he was already in detention. God, her mom would have a heart attack._

_Coincidentally, only the two of them had gotten the predicament. They didn't make any contact with each other the whole time, but when Fang finally exited the room, he got the luxury of bumping against Dylan Martinez- Ride._

"_My sister there?" He asked, looking over his shoulder._

"_Over here, Dyl." He heard Max say._

"_What got you in trouble, anyway?"_

"_Had a round with him. Ambushed me at the lockers." She said. "Let's leave before the asshole decides to speak out."_

"_I was just welcoming you." He called out. That was partially true. It wasn't his fault Max was surprised by his alleged sneaking up. "And honey, I may be an asshole, but I'm the hottest asshole in the world."_

_And like 'Fang', 'the hottest asshole in the world' stuck._

* * *

"I thought this was a regular class?" Fang asked as they settled down on their regular bridge- spot. Their last class had been the day before the first day of school, which had been a couple of weeks ago.

"You told me this was an intro class. And may I remind you that even _you_ don't care about your actual intro classes."

"But you're the teacher. You're supposed to care. Besides, this is the only intro class where I take notes."

"Well I'm sorry Fang, but I can't be your girlfriend and act all clingy." Max teased. "Now update me."

"We have a lot of classes together. And as you've seen, we've been hanging out regularly. Sometimes, with you, Dylan, and Angel, sometimes just the two of us."

"So what do you need?"

"I need info on the perfect timing to ask her out."

"Ah, the fine line between a date and a member of the friendzone. It's obvious she likes you. Now all that's left to do is lure her in."

"So what you're talking about is the art of seduction?"

Max nodded. "I don't think you'd need a lesson on that. But you might need to tone it down a bit."

"How exactly should I seduce her?"

"Depends on the situation. But always- and by always I mean _always_- seduce her by using your weapons from the waist up. Telling a girl you have a boner because of her might either be the least or the most flattering compliment she'll receive."

"So if it can be the most, why shouldn't I try?"

"Because it can also be the least. Also, the effect of that compliment depends on her level of horniness, slutty- ness, and seriousness. And I still can't determine her position on the scales, so let's not take any chances during your first possible date."

"Why would it be the least?"

Max shrugged. "I've heard stories. Let's be cautious for now."

"Can you give an example?"

"Let's say you two are hanging out alone. And then she accidentally spills her drink on you. Take off your shirt. Do not do this on public domain, because you might end up seducing the wrong girl with those." She replied, poking his chest.

"So basically as long as it's just the two of us and my shirt is wet, I can take it off?"

"Bingo."

"How about if we're in public?"

"Then you'll have to work on that face and those arms. Never wear loose tank tops, or whatever you call those things for guys, because there are some girls that do not find it attractive and it's a bit too casual. Also, I don't think it would look good on you."

"Shall I practice the smolder?"

"Yep. Girls like guys with mega- watt grins. And when you compliment her, never use the word cute unless you're commenting on something Hello Kitty related."

"What? Why?"

"Personally, I think cute is for little kids and puppies and kittens. But go ahead if you feel like it. After all, you told me you mastered the art of seduction back in high school."

"What if I don't want to use cute?"

"'Beautiful' always works."

"How about pick- up lines?"

"Never use nerd- themed pick- up lines if you're not a nerd."

"Can a practice one on you?"

"If you're cool with the possibility of being pushed off a bridge, then go ahead."

He cleared his throat. "Satan must really hate you."

"Why?"

"Because you're hotter than hell."

She thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Not bad, Karas. That might do. But work on a couple more. And never use noodles for a pick- up line."

"Why?" He asked.

This time, Max cleared her throat. "You know, you're like noodles."

"Why?"

"Because you're cheap and easy. Another. You know, you're like noodles."

"Why? Again?"

"Because I want to pour boiling water on you. See what I mean?"

He nodded, and made a show of writing it down on his pocket- sized notebook.

"Remember to look at her reaction, know the difference between blushing and turning red with fury."

"I can't ask her out and seduce her at the same time, right?"

"I think the image of you asking her out while you're not wearing a shirt is weird."

"Got it."

"Now let's go and look for an opportunity for you to seduce Lissa."

* * *

Days later, a well- known red head knocked on Max's door.

"Hey," Lissa greeted shyly. "Is your roommate there?"

Angel had left the dorm for a couple of minutes to get something from her brother. But whether she was there or not, Max was sure Angel would still find a way to eavesdrop. "She's out for a while. Come in."

Lissa went into the room and sat on the edge of Max's bed.

"Was there something you wanted to talk about?" Max asked. Then she remembered that they had nothing education- related in common. "Wait, it's about Fang, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

"You like him, don't you?"

"I sort of do, and this is really, really embarrassing to ask, but is there anything I could do to, you know, get his attention?" She asked.

Max wanted to say _No honey, you already got his full attention_, but she actually liked watching Fang make attempts to get a girl by using what he called "nontraditional style".

"I'm sorry," Lissa interrupted. "I mean, I'm not the best at seducing guys. There are times that I say boring stuff, because, you know, I'm sort of a math geek. What's the best thing to say to get a guy's full attention?"

She almost laughed. Someone asking her on how to seduce a guy? That was extremely unlikely. And yet there she was, trying to help Lissa seduce Fang.

"The best thing I said that got every guy's attention was, 'I have all the American Pie movies. Unrated.' But don't worry, I can find a way to help you with Fang."

"So, what do you think should I do to get his _full_ attention?"

She wasn't exactly hoping for Lissa to ask her then and there. Originally, she was planning to ask Fang about it first. But what the hell? What did she remember that immature high school Fang used to like? After all, a guy's hormones don't change preferences _that_ fast.

Her mind was blank.

"Wash a car?" Max blurted.

What did she just say? Oh great. Maybe she should tell Lissa that she'd ask him first.

"I didn't mean, wash a car like regular people who work in a car wash. But you know, like what they do in those music videos and movies."

Lissa nodded. "What should I wear?"

"Nothing too skimpy, or you'll attract too much attention. You can do shorts, but midriff- bearing tops are too much too ask. You can skip the heels if you like. And when washing the car, do not do too much gymnastics."

"That would work?" She asked hopefully.

"Tell you what, I'll call Fang right now and ask him about it without mentioning you." She said and stood up. When she got to the hallway, Angel was leaning against the wall with a huge grin on her face.

"Yeah Max, I heard everything. Don't call Fang. We'll do recon, and it'll be fun to see both of their faces. Trust me."

She had to agree with Angel. Fang might have suspected something and it would have ruined the plan.

"This weekend?" Max asked, and got a nod. She went back inside and flashed a smile at Lissa.

"You're good to go. Prepare for it before noon on Saturday and I'll find a way to make him walk in."

* * *

The next door Lissa knocked on was her cousin's.

"Fang again?" Brigid asked upon opening her door. Lissa nodded, and went inside then retold everything that had happened minutes ago.

"Wash a car?" Nudge, who was Brigid's roommate, asked. "He sure has some funky taste."

"Well Max asked him. So I have an 'appointment' before noon this Saturday. And I don't know what to wear."

"Did she say anything?" Brigid asked.

"Nothing too skimpy, but I could head for the shorts."

"Are daisy dukes allowed?" Nudge asked hopefully, gripping a small wad of denim. "Because it would totally look good on you."

"I'd rather settle for longer. But not too long, of course."

"Footwear?" Brigid said.

"She said I could skip heels. I'm planning on sneakers, anyway."

"That is one opportunity wasted, Lissa." Nudge, who was about to reach for a shoebox, replied. "How about the top? Should you wear something loose, or form fitting? I vote for a tank top."

Lissa looked at Brigid. Even though Lissa could dress herself appropriately, her cousin was better with style. After a minute of consideration, Brigid finally spoke up.

"We'll have to try on a lot of those."

* * *

Fang was sweaty and out of breath. Sure, he could handle sweaty, since his "sexy- glisten" was one of the features that attracted chicks, but panting like a dog didn't exactly qualify.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, his sleep was interrupted by Max. In the middle of his dreaming about whatever he would regularly dream of (he kept forgetting about them once he woke up), Max had tugged off his blankets, exposing him to early morning chill.

At first, he was freaked out that a girl saw him in his boxers. But then he realized two things: one, he was still hot, if not hotter, in his underwear, and two, it was Max. Max had already seen him half naked.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, trying to snatch the blankets.

"Get up. We're going for a run."

"It's Saturday."

Max made a _no duh_. "Come on, Angel saw Lissa head out. Here's your chance to show your sexy- glisten."

"Can we do it when I don't have eye bags?"

"No. You said Lissa wasn't much of a morning person, right? This might be your chance to show something other than your smolder and arms. Because you'll be sweating, and your shirt will be wet."

"But campus is public domain."

"It's Saturday morning. No one's up this early."

And because Fang knew Max had a point, he had no choice but to get up, get changed, and go with her for a run. They made a route around campus, and jogged for an hour or so.

"Run faster, you wimp." Max said as she eyed Fang's half- asleep form. "You can't seduce Lissa when you're obviously thinking of a nap."

"Wasn't that my point?"

"You snooze, you lose."

When they were almost at the dorms, Max slowed down to a walk and took out her phone.

"Who are you texting?"

"Angel. I'm checking if she's still there." Max replied. She stopped, and let Fang catch up with her.

"Catch your breath. I'm sure Lissa likes dogs, but I think she wouldn't be attracted to a guy that acts like one."

Fang made a face at her, but did spend a few minutes catching his breath.

"Okay, evaluate." He said.

Max looked him up and down. "You are now officially a hot and sweaty mess. Practice shaking all the sweat out of your hair. Avoid hitting her in the face. Or not."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fang asked, but she was too busy staring in another direction. He turned to where she was facing and _whoa_.

Lissa was there. Washing a car. And she looked hot.

Max pushed him in her direction. "Don't forget to seduce her." She said, sprinting off in another direction. That direction was headed for a tree. She climbed up, and sat on a branch, right next to Angel who was doing surveillance with a camera.

"I though we were using binoculars?" She asked, retrieving her pair and focusing it on Fang.

"Cameras capture the moment." Angel replied with a grin.

Meanwhile Fang, was striding towards Lissa. Lissa who was dressed in denim shorts, sneakers, and a loose tank top. Lissa who was bending over, scrubbing the car's windshield.

"That yours?" He managed to ask.

Lissa looked up and smiled. "It's Brigid's. She made me wash it."

"This early?"

"_I know_." She groaned, and went to turn on the hose. "What are you doing at this hour?"

"Went for a run." He said, trying not to be too obvious when her glanced at her bra, which was sort of peeking out from the tank top in a slutty- but- not- slutty- way.

"Lissa can definitely be wild when she wants to." Max told Angel.

"You are one huge sweat ball." Lissa commented, flashing a grin. Fang took it as a signal and shook his head like a wet dog.

She giggled. "Gross!" She squealed, and accidentally- on- purpose directed the hose in his direction, getting him soaked. When she finally realized what she had done, she turned it off and laughed at Fang, who was dripping wet.

"Come on Fang, it's your time to shine." Max whispered, focusing on the two. Angel kept on taking pictures.

Fang, who fortunately recognized the opportunity, shook his head again and- in what seemed like slow motion- took of his shirt.

"Atta boy, seduce her." Max said, aware that Angel's camera was clicking feverishly.

Lissa flushed upon exposure to his "glorious abs", and Angel took a just as glorious shot.

* * *

**(Okay, please don't hate me for making Fang seduce Lissa.)**

**My Art teacher actually told me about the use of the word "cute", that it's only for puppies and kittens and little kids. Crazy, but it works.**

**Also, I need your input on something: What do you think about the lessons? Are they bad, or something? Should I do something to improve them? And what advice would you give Fang? (Because I'll need some for future use.)**

**School starts in two weeks. Darn, but I'm still updating, obviously.**

**See ya =D**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR.**

* * *

"You're late."

Max made a face at her best friend, and then plopped down beside him, making that section of the bridge wobble. "Not a regular class." She said.

"You're the teacher."

"Nah, I'm more of a TA."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"Shouldn't _I_ be asking _you_ that? After all, you're the one who made me come here."

"Yeah, because you're supposed to teach me something new."

"Like what? You know more than enough to be able to flirt with every chick on campus."

"But how do I ask her out?"

"Fang, you've been asking tons of girls out since high school, I'm sure you know how to handle this."

"She's a different kind of girl."

Max let out a sigh of frustration and lay down, with her legs dangling over the edge. "Seriously, you need to loosen up. Lately you've been too paranoid and all you've been talking to me about is how to make moves on a girl when clearly you've been doing that for four years."

"That was different." He pointed out.

"It's pretty much the same, Fang, you just haven't done this all the way. So all the advice I've given you so far was sort of redundant."

"Then why did you do that?"

"Because I lost the arm wrestling match, and I'm pretty sure that you would've bugged me until I gave in. Plus, I sort of thought that this wasn't going to last long, and that your desperation was just a minor effect of being a college freshman."

"So you're saying that you don't really want to teach me?"

"I don't _need_ to. The only thing you need is your dignity, which you either left back home or ran away from you the day you 'fessed up about your desperation and asked me to hold Girls 101."

"And why didn't you say that earlier?"

"Because I thought you would eventually realize how desperate you are."

"It's called 'excitement'."

"Fang, if you haven't realized, 'excited' and 'desperate' are pretty much the same when it's about you. But actually, it was pure desperation."

"Thanks a lot, Max. That makes me feel tons better."

"Hey, you were the one who wanted the lesson. See, guys may not know jack about girls, but they sure do know how to make them feel special. You know how a guy gets to know a girl he likes? By asking her out. Because I'm very sure you don't know this, but when people go on dates, they don't just sit there and eat fancy food and then watch a movie. They make conversation, they ask about each other."

Fang clenched his fist. The comment about his dating skills hit home, and he punched the boards, making the bridge wobble again.

"Really, Max? You just had to put that in?"

"It's my lesson, remember? I'm the one teaching. And what is wrong with you getting offended with me making remarks about your high school self?" She asked, no hint of apology available. "Last I remember, those many times I called you an asshole, you would reply by saying you were the hottest asshole in the world."

"It's different."

"It's _too_ different. When people change, not everything changes about them. Your past can't change. And whether you like it or not, you will go back to your high school memories, dig up those flirting skills, and get them out to field. Speaking of high school memories, your past isn't _that_ bad. Jeez, Fang, you make it sound like you killed someone."

"But I did damage the souls of many girls."

"And they obviously got over it. I've seen that part."

"So what exactly are you telling me to do?"

Max's palm connected with her forehead, and she let out an exasperated sigh. Her previous speeches obviously didn't have that much of an effect on him. "I'm saying that you should quit this Girls 101 thing. Doesn't everyone need to make mistakes to actually learn? You plan your own moves, and then when you have trouble with something, ask for advice and not a highly detailed plan. Like every guy."

Even though there was that tone of anger in his voice when he replied, he was still wearing his trademark poker face. "Fine. Then I'm calling this off." He said, and stood up.

"Good for you." Max called out as Fang made his way back.

He was definitely acting weird. Did he really hate her for making him call off lessons on something he should've been an expert with all along?

Max could only guess that he was totally PMS- ing.

* * *

_What did she ever do to him?_

Max watched him walk down the bridge, her forehead all scrunched up. Seriously, what was wrong with Fang?

There was something totally different about him. Like during the summer, while the high school Fang was sleeping, someone switched him with a desperate, paranoid, and over- thinker that looked a lot like him. Even if she had witnessed the new Fang's traits for a couple of months now, she was more familiar with high school Fang.

High school Fang never got nervous when it came to hitting on a girl.

High school Fang credited his victories to witty remarks and not arm wrestling matches.

High school Fang never took notes for anything. And by anything, _anything and everything_.

High school Fang never feared cock blocks (because according to him, no cock block powerful enough would be able to stop him from "winning the game").

High school Fang never got nervous, and paranoid, and all that "butterflies in my stomach" crap because of just _one_ girl.

And most important of all, high school Fang never, ever, asked Maxine Martinez- Ride for relationship advice of any kind. Even if they were the two of the three remaining people of the earth, and Fang had to pro- create with the other girl.

This just felt wrong to her. A huge part of her wanted the old Fang back. She hated how nowadays, Fang would only come up to her if he need advice on something. They rarely caught up with each other, and all the updates came from Dylan (hey, he and Fang gossiped about her; she and Fang gossiped about Dylan. It was only fair that she and Dylan gossiped about Fang).

She knew people changed. She knew that Fang would somewhat change. But this was a huge kind. High school Fang would have taken years to be in the present state he was in. And that included post- junior year Fang.

With a sigh, she took out her phone and dialed Dylan's number.

"Is Fang there?" She asked once her brother picked up.

"Nope," he said, and then paused. "But I can sort of hear him coming. I thought the two of you were supposed to meet up or something?"

"He got pissed off in the middle of my lecture of not being too wimpy and dependent on me."

"So what do you want me to do now?"

She shrugged, but then remembered that they were talking over the phone. "I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. Just warning you, the witch in him could come out any second now."

After an agreement to meet up and gossip about Fang some more, Max hung up. Then she dialed Angel's number next.

"He didn't take it too well, did he?" Angel asked.

"Of course not. I sort of pissed him off when I got to his 'dark and dramatic' past."

"Do you want to tell Lissa and get them together already?"

"Nah. I think he enjoys this 'nontraditional' style, albeit his paranoid habits of calling me up and asking for more advice that he already knows. I'll let him do it by himself."

"Fine. But I'll give my brother a call, just in case he needs manly advice."

"Go ahead and do that. Let's hope he'll survive your brother's special talent."

* * *

_What was wrong with her?_

Fang was seething by the time he got to the dorms. Max was totally PMS- ing, with her pissing Fang off and telling him to cancel the lessons. Wasn't she one of the people that had wanted him to change in the first place?

He thought Max was fine with the lessons. She seemed cool about it about the first couple, and even gave more advice than the last one. She didn't even show any sign of getting fed up with it, which always showed in other situations. And she was over- reacting. With a sigh, Fang opened the doors and saw Dylan talking over the phone.

"Yeah, sure, I'm cool with that. How about this weekend? I really need to get out of this room. Great. Yeah. Bye."

"Ooh, someone's finally got a date." Fang teased, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah. It's about time." Dylan replied coolly, although he could see that his eyes were screaming, _What the F?_ "Hey, I thought you were hanging out with my sister? What, you guys had another lesson or something?"

He shook his head. "She wanted to call it off. Said I was over- reacting."

"Well, did you punch something?"

What did that have to do with what happened? "Um, yeah."

"You _were_ actually over- reacting." Dylan replied, and upon seeing Fang's confused look, added. "You always punch something whenever you over- react about something else."

Fang lay down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "I just need to know how to ask a girl out."

"You asked out practically every girl in high school."

"This is different. Lissa's a nice girl."

"Now don't you get all mushy there. And if you don't recall, you asked a lot of nice girls in high school."

"That's funny, I don't remember asking out any nice girls."

"That's because you didn't bother to remember them back then. Just use your traditional method, except do it in a nicer way. Every girl wants to feel special. Your mom, Max, prostitutes, strippers, professional female wrestlers, ordinary girls. Just let them know you're important to them and that you'll treat them nicely, and you're good to go."

"So does that mean I'm paranoid?"

"Honestly, yes. Mainly because of all people you could have asked for help, you chose my sister who you know has zero interest in relationships."

"But she dated a couple of guys in high school, right?"

"Yeah, and she dated each of them only once, because she found out that it was only to get in her 'good graces'. So that doesn't exactly count."

"I have to admit that you have a point there. But it's not like I've mastered everything I need to do to get into a serious relationship."

"Yeah that's sorta what Max and I are for. And maybe her roommate. And maybe Iggy and The Gasman, too."

"Should I ask her out now?"

"You should. I mean, seeing the way she acts around you, it's obvious she has a thing for you."

He stood up and headed towards the door. "Wish me luck."

* * *

While looking for Lissa, Fang also decided that he had to look for Max next and apologize to her for being both an ass and a wimp. And maybe they would go back to Girls 101, but Fang decided to not change his impulsive decision to cancel it to avoid getting a pissed- off Max again.

Looking for someone on campus was hard, especially on a Saturday, because a lot of students went out and partied hard until the wee hours of morning. He couldn't exactly recall if Lissa told him any plans of her heading out for the weekend with Brigid.

Maybe he should head for her dorm. Or maybe not. Was it weird going to someone's place just to ask them out? Back in high school, every time he asked a girl out, the farthest his territory would reach was the parking lot. The sidewalk might count, but only if the girl was hot and/or had strict parents that had her immediately heading home after class. He stopped walking and thought where to head first. Maybe the student center. Whenever he passed by there always seemed to be a lot of students. Maybe Lissa would hang out there. But didn't she mention that she was only into that kind of scene if Brigid was tagging along or making her tag along?

He was about to head back to the dorms when he saw a familiar flash of flaming red hair. He jogged over to Lissa and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey Fang." She said with a grin.

He half- smiled in response. "Hey, are you going heading out with Brigid or something?"

She shook her head. "She decided to bring Nudge instead. Better for both of them."

They continued making small talk for a few minutes, and while in a small commentary about their English professor, Max happened to walk by. Neither of them saw her, but she still hid behind one of the nearby trees. And she was just in time.

"See, Lissa, I wanted to ask you about something…"

* * *

**Before I get into a somewhat- lengthy AN, some questions:**

**1) How do you think should Fang ask Lissa out?**

**2) What do you think should they do on possible dates?**

**3) What should I draw for the story cover? (Yes, I can draw, but not enough to make my way out of a paper bag.)**

**4) Who do you think is going to win the NBA finals this year? East or west?**

**So, I'm apologizing for two things: 1) this chapter, aka the ultimate filler of fillers (because I never had a plan on what to do here, unlike in future chapters. Also, I had to get rid of desperate Fang because writing him like that is draining.) and 2) this ultra- late update (like I said, school just started here. And it may have been the first three days, but it's even more draining).**

**Great. Now I realized that I updated late **_**and**_** uploaded a horrible chapter. Damn.**

**Review, please? (Even if it's just to curse at me for writing this?)**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR. Though I do own the cover.**

* * *

"See, Lissa, I wanted to ask you about something…"

From where she was hiding, Max gave a sigh of relief. Finally, Fang decided to get rid of the unbelievably wimpy version of himself and man up. She crossed her fingers, and motioned for Fang to carry on, even if he didn't see her.

From where Fang was standing, he wasn't exactly thinking the same. He watched Lissa look up at him, her fingers playing with a lock of red hair. But even if he was nervous, he was obviously not going to mess up. The fact that he did ask tons of girls out back in high school was proof enough.

"So, what were you going to ask about?" Lissa asked, dragging Fang back to reality, and making him aware that he must've made Lissa wait for almost five minutes for a question that he may or may not mess up.

"See, Lissa… I… do you… have… have you seen Max?" He asked, mentally face- palming himself. So much for the assumption that he wasn't going to mess up. From her hiding spot, Max did the actual thing. Maybe Lissa was doing one in her head, too.

Lissa shook her head sadly, her face showing a sort of disappointed look. "Sorry, no. Have you tried looking for her in the dorms?"

"Um, no. Do you mind going with me?" He asked. "You were heading for the dorms, right?"

"Sorry, no. Brigid wants me to pick up some books from the library." She said. "I guess I should be going."

"Oh. Okay."

"Okay. I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, see you soon."

As Lissa walked in the other direction, Max came out of her hiding spot with a murderous look on her face. And while Fang had seen Max make a lot of murderous faces, this was the serious one. The same look she had on her face when she found out that she would've made a perfect batch of cookies if only Dylan didn't prank her by messing with the oven temperature. That one ended up with her brother almost needing a trip to the hospital.

Max glared at Fang, then glanced at Lissa, and then glared back at him. If he wasn't going to do it right this time, then he was _so_ dead. Fortunately, Fang understood the message and then tried to catch up with Lissa, who was a pretty fast walker sometimes.

"Lissa, wait." He called, and the redhead stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Fang, who was at the brink of sweating. When he finally reached her, he stopped and took a deep breath then proceeded to flash a grin at her. Girls were always too dazed at his grin- aptly named "The Charmer"- to say no.

"I've been thinking, do you want to go out some time?" He asked.

"Well, when exactly is 'some time'?" She asked in reply.

"How about…" _Think of a date. Think of a date._ "A week from now? Saturday night?"

She flashed an equally dazzling grin. "Why not? Pick me up at seven?"

"It's a deal. I'll see you around?"

"I'll see you around." She said, and with that, she went on her way to the library, secretly doing a little dance inside. Fang watched her go, unaware that Max had followed him a little while ago.

She gave him a pat on the shoulder, which made him jump. "See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

He swatted the hand off his shoulder. "Quit breathing, will you?"

Max grinned. "I'm sorry, Fang, but no matter how hard you try, that phrase will never fit me."

Fang was about to open his mouth and give an apology speech, but Max raised her arms, both palms facing him. "I know you're about to apologize, and I know that you know that I'm about to apologize, too." She said. "I'm sorry, you're sorry, I'm forgiven, and you're forgiven. Let's leave it at that, shall we? Besides, you have a date to plan." She started walking, and then stopped. "Wait, do we still have to continue the lessons?"

Fang smiled. That was one of the great things about Max. She was cool about fights and didn't want a dramatic apology scene. He shook his head. "I'm pretty sure I can still find my way."

They walked back to the dorm, Max following close behind.

_He finally scored. You think he needs some help?_ She texted Dylan.

He replied a minute later.

_He's going to date. I'm pretty sure he'll need more help than ever._

* * *

"He asked you out?"

"He asked me out."

"HE ASKED YOU OUT?"

"I repeat, yes, he asked me out."

Nudge and Brigid squealed in delight, hugged each other, and then ran over to Lissa to envelope her into a group hug. When she was finally released, they both did a little victory dance, and Lissa watched them in a background with a goofy smile plastered on her face.

After that little episode with Fang asking him out, she arrived at the library, tomato red and wanting to do the same victory dance her cousin and her cousin's roommate were doing right now. She couldn't wait to tell Brigid, and when she finally saw her arrive she immediately went up to her room and told her all about what happened, resulting into the little jig they were doing right now. It felt like high school all over again.

Even though one look at her would make a person assume that she was asked out a lot during her high school days, she wasn't. She did get asked out regularly, but compared to all the other girls in her school, she was a Plain Jane. And then there was Brigid, too, who every guy in the school seemed to want, and some of them even asked her out so they could get to Brigid. After all, she did have the whole package: beauty _and_ brains. So she was pretty glad that this time it was Brigid cheering for her and not the other way around.

"When and where is he taking you?" Nudge asked. "You need the perfect outfit."

"He told me that we'd go Saturday night, but he didn't say where we were going. Maybe it's a surprise."

Nudge, who had already opened their closet, frowned. "Well, since this is the first date I'm assuming that it's sort of formal." She said and turned back to her wardrobe, pulling out dresses and skirts."

"Wait, it's not going to be an I'm- taking- you- to- Olive- Garden- to- make- this- date- seem- special date, is it?" Brigid asked.

Lissa shrugged. "I hope not."

"Ooh! I almost forgot, your dad gave me a 'first date speech'. I think I'm supposed to say that to Fang. I'm pretty sure I have it here somewhere." She said, and started rummaging through her desk drawers.

"No way; I am not letting you embarrass me with that speech."

"But if your dad finds out I've let it rot somewhere then he's going to kill me." Brigid replied, opening another drawer. She took out the stack of papers and rummaged through them. "Aha! Found it."

Lissa groaned. Fang might not talk to her again if he ever heard it.

"Hey, Lissa, come here, I need you to try on some stuff." Nudge called out from across the room.

Glad that she had an excuse to get away from Brigid, even if it was just ten feet, tops, she ran all the way to Nudge.

* * *

"Saturday night. That's in, like, a week, right?" Dylan asked.

Fang nodded.

"Well, what are you planning to do?" he asked, which made Fang realize something: Max forgot to tell him how to plan a good date.

He shot an accusatory look. "You never did cover that part!"

"Well that was because we never got to it! And besides, I wasn't the one planning dates back in high school?"

He looked at Dylan. "I can't take her to Olive Garden or something, because that's like a cookie cutter format. And besides, I never did like Olive Garden."

"Yeah, you can't." Dylan, replied, and then turned to Max. "You have anything up your sleeve, sis?"

"I'm sure I can think of one. I have a week, anyway. What stuff does she like, again?"

"Mix CDs. She likes that stuff the most. And her favorite color is red. She likes lilies, is sort of addicted to coke- the beverage- and hates olives."

"Do you like olives?" Dylan asked. Max and Fang looked at him, both of them with confused expressions on their faces.

"What? No. Hate them, too."

"Okay. I'll help Max figure that out. You do know how to make stable and interesting conversation, right?"

"Of course I do. But a little practice might not hurt."

There it was again, Fang's paranoid side showing. "Fang…" Max began.

"Chill Max. I do have to avoid making dirty jokes, you know."

"Fine. But this will only be a one time thing. You need to let go of that pussy- ness inside you."

Dylan stood up. "Come on. Iggy and Gazzy's going to help you with that."

"How come? Are they good?"

"They are. In a way."

When they reached the door, Max knocked once and Iggy opened the door, his hair disheveled and his glasses almost sliding off his nose. "Fang, my man!" He said, raising his hand for a high- five. Fang looked at it with a slightly amused expression and shook his head. "Fine," Iggy said mocking hurt, and lowering his arm. "Come in."

The three of them went inside, and The Gasman, who was busy connecting wires on the floor, waved. "What's up?"

"He needs help in sustaining a conversation with Lissa without making a single dirty joke." Max said.

Upon seeing the weirded out looks on Iggy and Gazzy's faces, Dylan stepped in to explain. "Let's just say that Fang has his own way of getting to know a girl better, if you know what I mean."

Gazzy nodded in understanding. "Now, Fang, sit in front of me." He said, and Fang did as he was told.

"Wait a sec." Iggy called out. "I'm pretty sure I have a red wig somewhere." He said and started pulling out random things from a box in his closet.

"Shouldn't you be the one acting as Lissa?" Fang asked. "I mean, you're a redhead, too."

"Am not." Iggy said. "Remember, it's _strawberry blond_. Plus, Gazzy's a better conversationalist. I can't find the wig; go ahead and start."

He cleared his throat. "So, Lissa…"

"What is it Fang?"

Fang, who was tilting his chair back the whole time, lost balance and fell. "What the heck?"

"What? Does it not sound like Lissa?"

"It does! How the freak did you manage to sound exactly like her?"

"It's my special talent."

"Don't worry Fang, once I find that wig it'll be easier to talk to him." Iggy said as he dumped another box's contents on the floor. Once it was clear that there was no sign of a red wig anywhere, he said, "Fuck it," knelt behind the Gasman, and used his overgrown bangs to hide Gazzy's blond hair. "Better?" he asked.

"It just looks even weirder. Never mind with the hair thing."

"Eh, whatever you say." Iggy said, standing up and walking over to where Max and Dylan were watching.

"Don't say we didn't warn you." The Gasman said in perfect imitation of Lissa's voice, and Fang fell out of his seat again.

* * *

"On the bright side, Fang's getting less out of whack." Dylan said, and Max had to agree.

Because of Fang apologizing, and the session he had to prepare for a serious date, the catch- up- and- gossip- about- Fang plan they had got moved from the weekend to that night.

"But really, I don't ever want to see The Gasman talk like that again. It just looks so creepy."

"I'm with you on that."

"Hey, what was that about the olives?"

"The olives?"

"When Fang mentioned that Lissa hated olives and then you asked him if he liked them and he said no?"

"Oh. It's The Olive Theory."

"Really, Dylan, another lame theory? What's it about this time?"

"It's like a total opposites thing; if two people are perfect for each other, then one should like olives and the other one should hate them."

"So you're saying that in order for them to work Fang has to start liking olives?"

"I'm not exactly sure. But maybe they're not meant for each other since they both hate olives."

"That's a load of bull, Dylan."

"But maybe it's not and they'll one day realize that they're not perfect for each other. You'll never know."

* * *

_**Saturday, One Hour before Date**_

"Iggy, are you sure that this is a fool- proof plan?"

"Max, two master pranksters and a child prodigy constructed this plan. Of course it's fool proof."

"It doesn't exactly look fool proof to me. It's a miracle that I can still read it."

"Oh, come on Dyl. Just because you're twins doesn't mean you have to agree with her. You have to admit, this is pure genius."

"Says one of the three people who can understand what's supposed to be going on here."

"It's just simple. Iggy and my brother will cause a distraction or two, I'll be using my incredible powers of persuasion, and then Max will be using her stealth to sneak up and then you'll be carrying all the stuff."

"Why does it have to be me?"

"For starters, you're the strongest, aside from Max, because she has a different task at hand."

"Yeah. And besides, you're not going to carry everything. Iggy's going to be handling the food, since you're not exactly an expert on that."

"How does one have to be an expert in handling food?"

"Can you balance five trays on one arm?"

"No."

"That's our point. Our rendezvous will be the old tree by the back door, and then Max will give the key to Fang. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Got it."

"Got it."

"Got it."

"Got it."

* * *

_**Saturday, The Actual Date**_

Key? Check.

Flowers? Check.

Mental list of possible compliments to give? Check.

Hidden earpiece in case he didn't know what to say? Thanks, but no thanks.

Once again, Fang was going solo. Well, not really solo since he had to enlist the help of Max in order to plan an actual date. But when Lissa told him that he should pick her up in Brigid's room instead, he wished that he considered the earpiece as an option.

Nudge had opened the door, and ushered her in, just in time to see Brigid come out of the bathroom. "Nudge, do you mind helping her in there?" She said, pointing a finger. When Nudge was gone, Brigid settled down on a beanbag and told Fang to sit on the one across.

"So, Fang, you're dating my cousin…"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Remember that there are a few ground rules."

"What, you need some valid ID's?"

"Very funny Fang, but no. It's just the typical, no going to places that involves you getting a fake ID. And you can never give her more than three glasses of any alcoholic beverage, since she's vulnerable like that. And if you're planning on… having any additional activity, just tell me first, I'm cool with it."

"Wait, if you're cool with it, how come we still have to tell you?"

"So I can cover for both of you. Also, if I see even a tiny smear of mascara on her face, I will completely blame it on you and chase after you with my shot gun."

"You have a shot gun?"

"Actually, no. But her dad does. And I can borrow it. Bear with me, because chances are both of us will be pursued by Mr. Strud and his beloved shot gun if the two of you mess up."

"Great. Got it."

Thankfully, Lissa chose that moment to appear. And Fang had to admit it was worth the conversation, since she looked hot. Hot as in standing in the fine line between a moderately conservative girl and a slut.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Lissa said, and then gave a pointed glance at Brigid, who smiled and shrugged.

"It's cool." He replied, and then stood up, offering his arm. "Shall we?"

"Be back before sunrise!" Brigid called out as the two of them went out the door.

"She's never going to do that again, is she?" Fang asked.

"I hope not."

* * *

"Aren't you going to ask where we're going?"

She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I'd rather keep it a surprise."

From the student dorms, they walked several more blocks until reaching one area, which contained the Science buildings. They kept on walking until they reached one particular building, which was at the northernmost part of campus.

"Isn't this illegal?" Lissa asked, but then shook her head and answered her own question. "Never mind. It's always more fun when it's illegal."

Fang took the key from his pocket and opened the back door. Unfortunately, since the elevator wasn't in operation and he had no idea how to make it work, they had to climb all four sets of stairwells, with Fang carrying her on his back for the last half. He opened a door and was met with a cool breeze.

"Fang… wow."

The rooftop had been empty an hour before, but now there was a small table covered in red cloth, a vase filled with lilies acting as its centerpiece, with chairs and utensils set for two. A small distance from that was another table, with plates of food, courtesy of Iggy. There was a makeshift stand for a CD player with two or three mix CDs, which Fang made after a quick tutorial from Lissa. Fairy lights added to the romantic effect.

And of course Lissa, being Lissa, headed towards the CD player first.

* * *

"That was awesome. No, really. No guy ever took me on a date like that."

Then he was headed for the right track, as soon as he called Max and convinced her to give him some lessons on planning a good date.

"Well I'm glad you liked it."

"Oh, wait, I think we passed my dorm."

"Oh hey, we did. Wow."

They went back, and stopped at the front door.

"So, do you want to do this again sometime?"

She grinned. "Sure." A kiss on the cheek. And then she shut the door behind her, and Fang went running back to his room, wondering if Dylan and Max had any plans on what to do with the key.

* * *

**So, I've been busy lately, because I have a legit excuse: school.**

**Well, at least I finally have the cover. I know it looks all wrong up there, so here's a link: ** .

**(And yes, I know that everyone there looks like they're 12 or something. Bear with me, I'm no artist.)**

**(And I just realized how often people leave out Gazzy's powers of mimicry.)**

**So, any thoughts? Like, how long do you think this is going to be?**

**See you in an indefinite number of days =D**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own MR.**

* * *

_**Ultra Fast- Forward, Like a Month or Two Later**_

With Angel's help, Fang and Max were able to discreetly return the key back to its original spot. But no, that wasn't the main point.

Based on pre- set criteria by Max, Dylan, Angel, Iggy, The Gasman, and the internet, Fang and Lissa were officially an item. Even if it was only the first date.

It wasn't that much of a deal, since unlike high school, the gossip ring wasn't as tight. They could freely roam around campus with bystanders not having much to judge them by, as compared to high school where someone would have said, "Hey, it's Fang. And… is that Lissa Strud? Are they dating?" partly in disgust or amazement, and in some cases, maybe even jealousy.

As much as Fang hated to admit it, he and Lissa were sort of getting mushy and all romance- y, which he also hated to admit that he liked. And while the words "get a room" had been uttered to him one too many times in high school, it felt slightly different this time. Mainly because at present, a hundred percent of the times the aforementioned phrase was told to him, he was in a mushy situation with the same girl.

And yeah, he did tell Lissa about his "sad, dramatic, dark past", which turned out to be a five- minute conversation without anyone bawling. Lissa had just laughed and said, "You had me worried for a second, you know. I'm just glad it's nothing serious and/ or requires medication. And in all honesty? Right now, I don't give a damn about it."

Really, there wasn't much to tell to fill in the gaps. After the first date, there was a second one. And a third one. And a fourth. But then, there was something altogether different: he planned them on his own. And while he did ask for approval from Max or anyone else every now and then, it was all good on the first try.

And that part was after the lessons stopped.

Two weeks after the first date (wherein during that time period, Max taught him proper post- first date and post- date etiquette), Max told him that she was putting a stop to the lessons mainly because Fang picked up fast and something about that being the only stuff she really knew. And also because Max still thought of the idea as sort of ridiculous and a really wimpy move on Fang's part. But hey, at least he wasn't that wimpy anymore.

So to once again generalize, he was pretty much doing fine. Fissa (which was the name given by Nudge, Brigid's roommate) was doing fine. So far, college had been a pretty smooth road. He and Lissa had already planned to introduce their selves to the other's parents by the time winter break rolled around, even if both of them were sort of stalling around the fact that they weren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Everything was pretty much going steady.

Right now, the two of them were at the rooftop of Fang's dorm. He had set down a blanket for him and Lissa to lie on, and with a little bribing, had Iggy prepare a small dinner and some dessert. The pre- arranged fairy lights, which were always necessary on a romantic rooftop date, provided some light along with the stars. Really, it wasn't a date, though Fang was hoping that he could finally pop out the question and be Lissa's official boyfriend.

"Fang?" He heard Lissa say, her hand moving slightly so that his hand was in contact with hers.

"Yeah?"

"I need to ask you something."

* * *

So two weeks after the first date, Max decided to put a stop on all the lessons. No one exactly knew that it stopped, because it wasn't like Dylan was all, "So how did your 'class' go?" whenever Fang got back to their dorm, even if he knew all about the spontaneous schedule (after all, the teacher was his sister).

Eventually, Dylan did find out. It was during that one conversation, wherein Fang told Dylan about him wanting to know if Lissa did want to be with him. After he suggested that he should ask Max, since they were having lessons after all, Fang told him that it had stopped more than a month ago. And that was when Dylan decided to ask his sister.

So why did the lessons stop?

Based on relationship advice, that was pretty much what Max could teach him. Like what she told him upon her announcement, "After that, everything will come naturally. So the rest is just you listening to your gut and remembering everything I told you." Yeah, Max did know more than Fang about "normal" relationships, but compared to your average teenage girl that subscribes to _Seventeen_, Max did not know jack about that stuff.

Also, Fang, even if he was very new to the "non- traditional" style, picked up pretty fast. He had properly executed proper post- date etiquette, and even single- handedly planned what to do on his and Lissa's second date, which had earned Max and Dylan's approval on the first draft. Even with the lessons, Fang didn't change much. He was still the same high school Fang, the same old "hottest asshole in the world", although his moves were different.

Other than those two main reasons, Max had to add in the fact that she was getting busier each day, with professors piling up their share of thousand- word papers and immediate deadlines. Also, she still thought that the lessons were ridiculous and made Fang look wimpier in total contrast with his high school reputation.

That was pretty much it: Max had already told him everything she knew, Fang already got the ropes on the "non- traditional" style, she was getting busy, and she still thought it was stupid. Plus, it seemed like Fang's "training" was complete.

Of course, Fang had no hard feelings towards the fact that Intro to Girls 101 had come to a conclusion, especially because Max wouldn't have to regard him as extremely wimpy anymore. He even planned two more dates on his own, with last minute approval from Max and the rest of the gang. Some times he even approached Brigid on his own for the date planning, which Max only found out whenever Lissa would gush about how sweet it was for Fang to do this and that.

The one thing that surprised Max (and Dylan) the most though, was when Fang told the two of them that he had already relayed his high- school stories to Lissa, which meant that the "sad, dramatic, dark past" had already come out. Of course, the twins threw out an "I told you so" when they found out that Lissa didn't really give a damn about the so- called "mysterious" history of Fang's.

Still, Max knew that there was still something left hanging off the lessons, like she still had to clear things up even if she already told him everything she knew. And one day, Max had gone to the bridge where they held the lessons alone.

That was when she realized there was one other reason. The most important one.

She was feeling something.

* * *

"You're feeling something?"

That was how Dylan chose to respond upon Max's explanation of why she stopped teaching Intro to Girls 101.

Max sighed. "Dyl, I know that you know what it means."

"I know, but to start, the word choice is sort of, you know, odd."

"Well, saying 'I think I'm starting to have feelings for Fang' is an exaggeration. At least it is in my case, anyway."

Dylan nodded, understanding his sister's chalky history with romance. "But why now? I mean, the two of you have been friends for about two or three years now."

"That's the thing. You know me and how I generally feel towards guys. And Fang hasn't even changed, save for how he picks up chicks. So that means that I did. Change, I mean. Or at least how I saw Fang changed."

"Why would it suddenly change? I'm no expert on friends- then- friendzone- then- maybe- more- than- friends- relationships, but seriously? You've known each other so well for _three frickin' years_ and your brain suddenly decides that you like him only now?"

"Don't ask me; even I don't know that. I'm guessing that maybe I felt like this before, but I just ignored it and maybe my hormones decided that it's about time I try to get a love life and those feelings for him seem to surface out of nowhere. At least that's what I'm betting on, based on my policy about liking guys."

"What's this about a policy about liking guys?" Someone asked. That someone turned out to be Angel, who was standing in the doorway of her and Max's dorm, where the twins were having their heart to heart. Dylan and Max glanced at each other and after a moment of silence and telepathic conversations, Max nodded and motioned for Angel to come over. And then she told her all about the mess with Intro to Girls 101.

"You're feeling something?" Angel asked.

"It's how she says she has feelings for someone." Dylan explained.

"I sort of understood that one, but still." Angel said. "It's just that whenever you're with Fang, you're all 'one of the boys', so it's pretty weird."

"That's my point, exactly. It's part of my liking guys policy."

"You have a policy for liking guys?"

"It's like this: I don't like guys. But I like guys." Max said, but seeing that Angel was still confused, carried on. "To be honest, I think having those crushes and all is a waste of time. Not because I'm study- oriented or anything, but let's face it: I'm one of the boys all the time. I'm not really the type a guy would drool over or anything like that. Therefore, I think having a crush on a guy is a waste of time when I know that the said guy doesn't like me back like that. But since I am a girl, I still like them."

"Clear enough explanation." Angel said nodding. "But, I'm still confused. What's with the Intro to Girls 101 thing?"

"Oh, that sort of starts way back into high school." Dylan said, and looked at Max, a question if she wanted to tell Angel the whole thing. Max nodded, and both of them took a deep breath.

"For this to make sense, we sort of have to tell you the whole high school thing. Or not. But it's pretty short anyway." Max started.

"High school? Isn't that the part with Fang's 'sad, dramatic, dark past'?" Angel asked.

"That's also one of the things: Fang's past was in no way sad, dramatic, or dark." Dylan said.

"To put it quickly: he was a player." Max added.

There was a moment of silence as Angel blinked and the twins waited for her response. "That's it? He was a player?" she said.

"I know." Max replied. "Dylan and I practically scoffed at how he was all dramatic last summer, talking about clean slates and all that. It wasn't like he killed someone. Or passed an STD around."

"Although there were a lot of rumors about the STD part." Dylan added quickly.

"Pretty much the only reason he was guilty was because he didn't have any psychological back- up information. His parents weren't divorced or anything, nothing happened that made him swear never to love again or something like that. Basically, he was only a player because he wanted to be one or he knew he could be one. And according to him, his parents were pretty fine; they didn't do anything that would have caused him to undergo some strange phase."

"So to summarize, Fang was a player and he feels guilty because there was nothing wrong with his family or environment and he doesn't have a sob story to go along with it?"

"Something along the lines of that." Dylan confirmed, nodding.

Max took another deep breath. "So to start: Our family moved in time for freshman year. During the first day, Fang and I got detention because of a fight." She said, remembering that time Fang was both trying to hit on her and access his locker.

Dylan continued. "After that, both of them continuously got into detention. And since it was the first couple of weeks, where no one else did anything major to get into trouble, it was only the two of them after school the whole time. So they sort of formed a bond, and by the time sophomore year was about to end, both of them admitted that they had become each other's best friend. And while it was a public thing, it wasn't well acknowledged."

"By the end of junior year, Fang had this 'enlightening' thing. I don't know how or why because he never told me, but anyway, he decided he got tired of flirting with random girls. And then that was when he decided about the clean slates part. And then he made me do the lessons thing, which then leads to this."

"So, back to that: you think you're starting to like Fang? As in _like_?" Angel asked.

"I am."

"So what are you planning to do about it?"

"Nothing. It's my liking- guys policy: I know liking him is a waste of time because he'll never like me like that. But a part of me likes him anyway."

Dylan cast an apologizing look at Angel. "I know; she gets kind of confusing and exasperating like that sometimes." He told her and stood up. "You mind if I take my sister out for some coffee?"

* * *

"I can't believe I'm starting to like Fang when he's already with someone else." Max sighed as Dylan handed her a cup of coffee."

Dylan sat down on the chair across his sister. "You know, this suddenly reminded me of the closet story. After that incident, I thought you liked each other, but then time passed and nothing happened."

"The closet story." Max repeated.

"You know what I'm talking about. You have to admit, if you think that at one point you had feelings for Fang back in high school, then the closet story ties in with it."

_It was the first week of senior year. Ever since sophomore year, it was a point for guys and some girls to chase after Fang after getting victimized by him or as a part of revenge for a girl who had fallen under his spell. Senior year was no different. Usually they would give up after the first week, but in the meanwhile, they would be pretty determined to beat him up. And that year had larger numbers than usual._

_Max had been stalling around after the last class, arranging her books to pass the time in waiting for Dylan, and possibly Fang. And five seconds later, the latter had run up to her and grabbed her shoulder._

"_Quick, there's literally an angry mob after me." He said, out of breath._

_Max could hear footsteps quickly approaching, and on impulse, shoved him into the nearby utility closet. Although, she hadn't planned for Fang to drag her in along with him. She wanted to say something, but decided to save it for later when the angry mob was gone._

_Fang walked over to the door and pressed his ear against it. "Finally, they're gone." He said, and turned the knob, but nothing happened._

"_Great, you locked both of us in." Max said, slumping to the floor. "You would have already gotten out if you didn't drag me in."_

"_Well, I'm sorry." He replied, turning on the light and sitting next to her. "I was acting on impulse."_

"_It's a good thing I have my phone." She said, sending a text to Dylan, informing him about their situation. Then she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Now the least you could do is let me get some rest."_

"_Max…"_

_She looked up, and realized that her face was near Fang's. He wasn't acting all freaked out, so Max decided to stay nonchalant. "Yeah?" She asked._

"_Thanks for saving me back there. I mean it."_

_Their faces were still near each other, and no one was making a move, so they spent the next few moments looking at each other like that. And then Fang moved, making his forehead touch hers._

_That was when Dylan chose to open the door._

_Max took her head off his shoulder, and they both got up. As the three of them left the school, Dylan and Max exchanged glances._

_Both of them knew that Max and Fang might have kissed if Dylan didn't choose to open the door at that moment. But at that time, Max was pretty thankful._

* * *

**So I was just supposed to type "Was going to update earlier but then a black hole swallowed me in and I had to wait for my laptop to get in, too." But seeing as I've been gone on what I swear was an unplanned hiatus, I think y'all deserve an explanation.**

**To start, no, I did not all of a sudden rush the story because I suddenly decided during the hiatus that I didn't want to drag this on any further. I actually had this part planned since the beginning, though I never got around to typing it until now. As of current, I do not want Max and Fang to take forty chapters to realize that they like each other.**

**I'll try to update regularly again (I'm willing to bet that you had to read the previous chapter to remember what happened.) in the midst of school. To summarize what has happened to me: A lot of my friends unfortunately left, I got a jumpstart on my political career, I discovered my talent at face- painting, and I became a one- time scrabble champion.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter :))**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own MR.**

* * *

Back to Fang and Lissa's rooftop not- really- date. The one where Fang was really hoping that he and Lissa would be official because it would have been awkward if he went all the way to Lissa's parent's house and introduce himself if he was, to put it differently, just a "short- term investment". And he was thinking those very thoughts when Lissa interrupted.

"Fang?" He heard Lissa say, her hand moving slightly so that his hand was in contact with hers.

"Yeah?"

"I need to ask you something."

Fang took a deep breath. "I also need to ask you something." He said, trying to slip in his present predicament.

"Actually, do you mind if I go first?" She asked, sitting up.

"Of course I don't." He said, also sitting himself up so that they were face to face.

Lissa looked down and blinked, then took a deep breath before asking, "How long have you and Max been best friends?"

Fang mentally sighed. It was _this_ conversation again. Back in high school, his and Max's friendship were known, but rarely acknowledged by others (after all, a player and a bad- ass? It was a truly weird combination). But when it was recognized, it was usually by Fang's "flavor of the day- or- week". It was the same thing every time: all those girls were jealous that Fang and Max were friends, and were scared that Fang might go cheat on her with Max or something (most of the time Fang would respond that he had better taste, but even if that reply was sort of offensive, no one said anything). In conclusion, they wanted the Karas- Martinez- Ride shindig to end. And Fang would make false promises, and then he would bribe Max to pretend to ignore him until the fling ended.

But this time, it was for real. And as much as he didn't want to let go of Max, he didn't want to let go of Lissa, either. He had that much faith in her.

"We've known each other since freshman year, but we've only been really good friends for about three years now."

"And you didn't have any non- platonic feelings towards her at any point during high school?"

Shit. This was totally about to turn to an I- want- you- to- stop- being- friends- with- Max- talk.

"Not that I know of." He replied. In his head, he was all, _Please don't make me break up with you because you don't want me to be friends with Max anymore. Even if we aren't officially in a relationship and pretty much dating for now._

"And you don't think you have any feelings for her now?" She asked.

He sat up straighter and locked eyes with Lissa. "Listen. I am very sure that I do not have non- platonic feelings for Max right now. And as much as I like you, there is no way I'm ending things with Max."

Lissa blushed and looked down. "Really, I'm not asking you to stop being friends with Max. If anything, the person you should end things with is me."

Okay, Fang was getting confused and all weirded out now. "You're saying that you want to end things with me because I don't want to end things with Max?"

"Not in that way. What I'm saying is, I think we should end this thing between us because there are still some things you need to sort out between you and Max."

"But we don't have anything we need to sort out. We haven't had any arguments."

Lissa took a deep breath. "You said you don't recall having feelings for Max back in high school? That doesn't mean you didn't actually feel anything towards her. It's just that, the two of you might not know it, but there are times that when I look at you and Max, there's this weird tension, like you guys like each other, but at the same time you don't like each other. I'm not talking about like- hate, it's more of _like_ and like."

Fang nodded. He understood what she was trying to say, but was in no way near to actually believing that the relationship between him and Max was like that.

"It's confusing isn't it?" Lissa asked, and Fang simply nodded in reply. She carried on. "It's just that, it was sort of the same predicament with me and my best guy friend back in high school. I'd hate it if you really had the feelings, and that maybe you had the chance, but you didn't take it because of me. I think it's one of the things that you don't think would make sense at all until it's already happening to you."

Fang just nodded again. It was almost too much to absorb, and his brain was starting to go on overdrive, bringing up old high school stories and releasing a somewhat infinite string of thoughts.

Lissa stood up and reached out her hand to Fang, who accepted it. "Fang, listen: right now, I just want you to find out if you really have feelings for Max or not. If you don't, then our date for the holidays is still on. But if you do, I'll gladly end things with you, no hard feelings, and if you want, we can still be friends."

She stood on her tip toes and lightly kissed Fang, and then walked out, waving before she slipped in the door to the staircase.

God, Fang was confused.

He just stood there for a minute, rubbing his temples, still trying to absorb everything Lissa told him. He honestly didn't know how to feel. He went downstairs, and by that time Lissa was already gone, probably starting on the short trek back to her dorm. He ran down the hallway and knocked on a door, and once the person he wanted to talk to answered it, took a deep breath.

"We've got a code red on the friend zone."

* * *

Honestly, Fang knocking on his door and vaguely saying, "We've got a code red on the friend zone." Was not how Iggy planned to start his night. Iggy was planning on a (literally) hot date with Gazzy and some nitroglycerin. He was not expecting him to show up and be all mysterious, especially when he thought that he and Lissa were on a date that night.

That was partly why Iggy decided to respond with, "Um, what?" That, and because he really couldn't understand what Fang was trying to say.

"I need your help." Fang explained, seeing Iggy's confused expression. "Max isn't exactly the best person to turn to right now, so if you don't mind…"

He nodded in understanding that this was a bro thing, and then led him in.

"Where's Gazzy?" He asked, sitting down on Iggy's desk chair.

"He went out to look for nitroglycerin." Iggy responded, and upon seeing Fang's _WTF_ face, shrugged. "Hey, I wasn't exactly sitting around the whole evening waiting for you to knock on my door and bestow upon me the temporary chip on your shoulder. And what is this about anyway? I though you were on a date with Lissa? Is this about her?"

"Not just about her. About a lot of things. And I would appreciate it if Gazzy had some input on this, but right now I just really need help."

"Wait a second, are you going to have to talk a lot the whole night?"

Fang sighed and nodded, as if to say, _there's no other way, is there?_

"So, you were having a date with Lissa…" Iggy started.

"And then all of a sudden, she asked me if I had feelings for Max. At first, I thought she was saying that I had to choose between the two of them, but she was saying that she thought there was unfinished business about how we felt towards each other and that we both had to clear it up, and I had to find out what I really felt for Max."

"And are you feeling something?"

Fang took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "The truth? I think I am."

"So you think you're feeling something? Oh wait, you called on code red in the friend zone. So duh."

That was the moment The Gasman decided to interrupt them. "There's a code red on the friend zone?" He asked, sitting down beside Iggy. "Dude, that's serious stuff. Oh, and my guy's somehow out of nitroglycerin. Why there would be such demand in these parts, I do not know."

Iggy looked at his partner and crime and nodded solemnly about the seriousness of both situations.

"Wait, how did the code red begin, anyway?" Gazzy asked.

To spare Fang the task of saying a lot of words, Iggy answered for him. "While he was on his date with Lissa, she told him that he was probably still feeling something towards Max and that he should fix things while he still had the chance. I mean, dude, his girlfriend is supporting a pairing that involves her boyfriend. It's way out of whack, which explains his current state. Wait, no. It's actually because of the code red part."

"That's a lot to take in." Gazzy nodded in agreement, and then turned to Fang. "You and Max have been best friends for quite sometime, right? According to Angel, there will always be a point in a guy- girl friendship where either one will have some feelings toward the other."

"Your _fourteen- year- old _sister said that?" Iggy asked in a semi- weirded out tone.

The Gasman merely shrugged in reply. "Child prodigy. Now back to the real problem: Fang, you have to be totally honest with us over here. What happened during high school, anyway?"

Fang took a deep breath. Iggy and Gazzy had no idea about the list of adjectives Fang had constantly used when talking about his history and decided that now wasn't really the time to dramatize things, especially when they weren't so dramatic anymore considering Lissa's reaction. "Basically, I was a total player back in high school for no apparent reason. Max had moved in, and we became friends over the bonding hour that is detention. And at one point when junior year had ended, she sort of stopped me from being a player."

"She convinced you to stop the irresistible habit that is picking up chicks?" Iggy asked.

_Was it really the truth?_ Fang asked himself. But it was, and he was tired of denying things. "Well, something like that. I stopped hitting on girls because I realized that I probably had feelings for Max. And she still doesn't know about that part."

* * *

"Hey."

Brigid looked up from her computer to see Lissa standing in the doorway of the room she shared with Nudge. "I'm coming in." Lissa declared, throwing herself on Brigid's bed.

"I thought you had a hot date with Fang?" Nudge, who was on her own bed reading a magazine, asked. Upon remembering that specific fact, Brigid shut down her computer and turned to face Lissa.

"About that, I decided to ask him about the Max thing."

"_You did not_." Brigid said, her eyes widening a fraction of an inch, while Nudge replied with a look of confusion. "What about Max?" She asked.

"Haven't you noticed that for the whole time we've been all hanging out as this gang- like Fang's friends and the three of us- there are some times that there's this sort of tension between the two of them?" Brigid asked Nudge. "It's like they're in love with each other, but at the same time they only like each other as friends."

Though slightly confusing, Nudge nodded in understanding, also having noticed the tension. Then she let out a gasp and turned to look at an unmoving Lissa in newfound realization. "You did not just make him choose between you and Max, did you?"

"She did, actually." Brigid replied for her cousin, nodding solemnly. Nudge's face turned from in shock to in more shock. But Brigid wasn't finished with that statement. "The difference is, she made him choose Max first."

Nudge blinked. "Wait a second. That is absolutely crazy, out of whack, mad, extreme, and not to mention sort of stupid. Even if it's 'bros before hoes'."

"The even crazier part is, she made him choose Max because she might be more than a bro."

"That's it." Nudge said, getting up from her bed and sitting beside Lissa. "Explain yourself."

She sat up and looked at Nudge, and then at Brigid. "What?" She asked before flopping back down. "It's not like we're in a relationship or anything; we're just dating, he's not my boyfriend. And if he wants to be, then he has to take care of unfinished business with Max first."

"You are very weird." Nudge declared.

Brigid sighed. "And all because of that thing with Sam back in high school."

Nudge turned back to Lissa again. "Who is Sam? You definitely have a lot to tell us. Or me, mostly."

Lissa took a deep breath. "Sam and I were best friends back in high school. I mean, it wasn't the same with Fang and Max, because according to him they started out as enemies. The two of us were both lost, so for the first couple of weeks we stuck around with each other, since we were both newbies and all. Eventually, we became best friends."

"And then Lissa suddenly realized that she was feeling something non- platonic towards Sam." Brigid chimed in.

"And things got complicated?" Nudge guessed.

Lissa shook her head. "Not really. During that time I realized that, of course I didn't let him know. But in the end, he did find out. I told him during prom."

"And what did he say?"

"He told me that he used to like me in that same way, the key word being _used to_. According to him, he liked me since freshman year but somewhere in the middle of high school, he realized that I probably only saw him as a friend, so he gave up. And then he fell in love with someone else. So basically I was too late."

"So now you're giving up Fang so he can take the chance of being with Max before it's too late?"

"Something like that. I talked him into finding out what he really felt for Max, and to resolve that tension. I told him that if he really didn't feel anything for her, then it was fine and that our plans for the holidays, which was to formally introduce ourselves was still on. But if he did, then he should let the girl know."

Nudge blinked and shook her head. "That's just too much martyrdom to handle. It's totally over the top."

"My point exactly." Brigid said with a sigh. "Why can't Lissa be selfish for just this one time?"

"I have a soft spot for friend- zoned people, okay? Especially considering that Sam and I have both unknowingly friend- zoned each other, and I'm pretty sure it's the same thing with the two of them."

Lissa had been almost selfish that night. She was actually on the verge of keeping Fang and Max apart at that time. But maybe, just maybe, she would be the key to them realizing an important thing or two, and that they'd at least be eternally grateful.

* * *

"Well, something like that. I stopped hitting on girls because I realized that I probably had feelings for Max. And she still doesn't know about that part."

It took a few seconds of silence for all three to absorb what Fang had just said (and yes, that counted Fang). Then The Gasman broke it by letting out a whistle. "I have to admit, that was sweet." He began. "But you know, it would have been sweeter if you told her."

"Something in my head told me it was because of her. But I sort of spent the whole summer ignoring that fact. Even if we always hung out during that time."

"Let me guess: it came snapping back at you at the end." Iggy asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, but in a way, I was sort of hopeless. Max has a policy thing on liking guys."

"A policy? What, she has a type or something?"

"No. She thinks liking guys is a waste of time because she thinks no one would ever like her like that. So while a part of her still likes guys, she's not keeping her hopes up in any way."

"That's… interesting." Gazzy said.

"Not to mention, there's this closet story. Every first week of school, it was sort of a tradition for guys and some girls to try and beat me up as part of their revenge. They failed each time. And during senior year, I asked for Max's help and she pushed me in a utility closet. I ended up dragging her in, and we both got stuck there for a while."

Not really a while. Less than ten minutes, actually. But for Fang, it felt like forever.

"Ah, and the chaos ensued with Max letting you down gently?" Iggy guessed.

"Nothing close to that. We just sat beside each other and waited for Dylan to come."

"So that's the reason you gave up on Max? Because both of you didn't do anything?"

That wasn't the reason really. Fang _did_ do something, and Max would have probably done something. The real reason was what Dylan did. And no, it wasn't the opening the door part. It was way after that.

_Fang stared blankly at the sunset. His mind was somewhere else, back in the utility closet. He could still smell her hair, still feel her head resting against his shoulder, and still see how close she was when his forehead made contact with hers._

_He could still remember how close he was to kissing her. How close he was to stop denying that he was never going to like Max in that way._

_In a way, he had also been thankful that Dylan chose that moment to open the door and interrupt whatever was almost going to happen._

"_Something eating up your mind?" He heard a voice ask. He looked up to see Dylan, his face sort of silhouetted by the setting sun._

"_Yeah." Fang said, moving over so that Dylan could sit on the park bench. "Meaning of life and shit."_

_Dylan cleared his throat. "Um, listen. I need to talk to you. About the closet thing."_

_Fang tried to not show any emotion and nodded calmly._

"_Max told me the edited version; how you asked for help since the angry mob was chasing you and stuff, then she pushed you into the closet and you accidentally dragged her in."_

_Fang nodded again; at least Dylan really believed that part where Max getting dragged in was an accident. He certainly didn't plan that one._

"_Fang, I saw the last part, just so you know. The forehead thing? Don't deny it, you were about to kiss her."_

_Fang had to swallow hard before nodding again. "But I'm really thankful that you chose that moment to open the door."_

"_Yeah, and it's actually the same with Max."_

_Fang was expecting that part, but he was still surprised._

_Dylan broke the short silence by speaking up again. "Anyway, I'm not saying that you shouldn't try to hook up with Max. If you're what it takes to make her happy, then fine, I don't give a damn. But this is my sister we're talking about. If you will do anything that will upset and- or make her mad, you'll be facing both our wraths. What I'm trying to say is, Max doesn't want to lose you as much as you don't want to lose her. And maybe I'm crazy or maybe I'm not, but in my opinion, you telling her you have feelings for her might just be the one thing that'll complicate things and make her walk out of your life."_

_As Dylan stood up and left, Fang leaned his head against the bench and closed his eyes. He had a point. He didn't want to lose Max, even if he was losing her as a friend. Besides, she told him that she thought liking guys was a waste of time. And that probably included him, no matter how much he would say that he really did like her._

_Maybe it was for the best that he let go of it until he could figure things out. And he eventually did, but it was only pushed back, just a sliver of memory that waited to rise up again when the time was right._

* * *

**Well, that part with Lissa was totally random. But heck, I'm the writer; I'LL DO WHATEVER I WANT.**

**(And I just realized that my style's sort of like what I did for the last part of HOOML. Anyway, eh.)**

**Also, as you may or may not have noticed, I changed the cover (because the original one was sort of weird). It's supposed to pay tribute to Fang's notebook and stuff.**

**I wish you guys the best of luck for 2013 :))**


	9. Chapter 9

**Achievement Unlocked: Make at least one person like Dylan AND Lissa in the same story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR.**

* * *

"So up until now, I still haven't figured out anything." Fang finished, staring blankly at the window of the room Iggy and Gazzy shared.

It took another moment of silence for all three (and yes, Fang was still included) to absorb the short post- closet story. This time, it was Iggy who had broken it. "That was deep." He started.

"Does that mean Dylan ruined everything?" Gazzy asked, his fingers stroking his chin as he looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

Fang shook his head. "I was the one who decided to not feel anything for Max."

"Besides," Iggy added. "Dylan said that he was cool with Fang liking Max or maybe even them going out if his sister was happy."

"So what do you plan on doing now?" The Gasman asked.

Fang shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea."

"Don't worry man, you'll figure it out." Iggy said, giving him a reassuring pat on the back. "The next time that you and Max are going to hang out alone- which is highly possible, what with the two of you being best friends and all- you'll find out."

Fang shook his head again. "I just don't know what's going to happen."

It might have been two years since the closet incident, but Fang still didn't want to lose Max, and Max still didn't want to lose Fang. And what Dylan had told him that afternoon- that telling Max he had feelings for her might just be the one thing that would complicate things and make her walk out of his life- still had its point. And Fang still agreed with that. The only problem was that now, he didn't know what would happen if he put off confirming that he still had the same feelings for her as he did in that closet two years ago.

* * *

Dylan was still absent by the time Fang had gone back to the room he shared with him.

With a frustrated sigh, Fang lay down on his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. He was tired, but not the type of tired where sleep would come easily for him. It was awfully quiet, since it was a Friday night- probably already the early hours of Saturday- and most of the obnoxious and noisy people in the building had taken the opportunity to head out of campus. The silence wasn't really a helping hand in making him sleep. He rested his head on top of his hands and continued to stare.

So what _was_ he planning on doing now?

Honestly, it was messed up on so many levels for Lissa to convince him that he had feelings for Max. That part he might have decided to bring up on his own another time, any other time besides this one because he was dating her. This time around, it felt like he had no other option about that part, because a perfectly fine relationship with Lissa was at stake. And truthfully, he really wasn't so sure what to tell her, because he wasn't so sure how he felt. Yes, he was probably feeling something, but there was this huge emphasis on the "probably".

Maybe he could just sleep it off and reason it as a dream when he woke up. But that was a problem, because he couldn't even sleep in the first place. He could try talking to Dylan, but he wasn't sure how that would end up, since the topic was his sister, and not in the way that they would talk about her and her weird antics. Or he could order pizza, because he was totally hungry right now even if he and Lissa had eaten at their date. Maybe the food could make him fall asleep faster.

He could look for Lissa the next day- or later in the morning, since he had no idea what time it was and didn't care that much. Maybe he could talk to her and convince her that she was crazy thinking that there was tension between Fang and Max when clearly there was none. Maybe he could get her to throw away that idea of Fang settling that score and then their date for the holidays would still be on and this would all be forgotten.

Or he could look for Max.

And then they would hang out alone.

And then something as ridiculous as the closet incident would happen that would almost make them kiss each other but Max would stop and deny things even if Dylan wouldn't be there to open the figurative closet door this time.

Yeah, he could totally imagine that one. Like maybe Angel would be out and then they would hang out at her dorm while talking about something ridiculous, like Gazzy's proclaimed latest innovation in bombs or the meaning of life. And then all of a sudden they would be wrestling or tickling each other, and then one of them would have the other pinned down and in that moment they would look at each other like they were going to kiss. And then Max would end that moment by shoving him off or getting off him.

That would be highly possible. Maybe talking to Lissa was a safer choice.

Or he could talk to Lissa first, and then plan B was to carry on and hang out with Max to finally find out what was going on with the two of them.

And while a good night's sleep would have helped him come up with a convincing speech, all that thinking still couldn't make him fall asleep any faster.

* * *

Fang was probably too engrossed with thinking that he hadn't seen Dylan enter the room.

Dylan, in the meanwhile, had come back from Max's dorm, after the late night coffee shindig with Max where they both recalled the closet story and Max got frustrated about feeling things she shouldn't feel. Even after the dose of caffeine, he was still tired and desperate for sleep.

"Hey, how was the hot date?" He asked Fang as he sat down on his bed and removed his shoes.

It took a moment for Fang to realize that Dylan was there and another to process his question. "It was fine." He answered.

Dylan could tell that Fang was in deep thought about something, though what it was, he couldn't really tell. Maybe he was already planning what he and Lissa would do for the holidays. He had already changed to more comfortable clothes and was about to sleep when Fang broke the silence again.

"Dylan, do you think there's some sort of tension between the Max and me?"

He was considering asking if it was sexual tension, like they might both have feelings for each other. But that wasn't possible; Fang and Lissa were happy together, and the idea that Fang was in the same situation with Max would be sort of absurd.

"Did you two get into another fight? Because honestly, I don't see any tension between the two of you."

Fang replied with an "oh" and then turned out the lights, also preparing to sleep. But really, Dylan didn't see any tension. Maybe the next time they all hung out, he would look harder.

* * *

The last thing Lissa would expect on a Saturday morning- probably almost noon- was the 'hottest asshole in the world' freshly showered and standing in her doorway.

"Any occasion?" She asked, glad that Brigid and Nudge were still probably asleep and lacked energy to prompt her to take back what she said last night during their date- turned- sort- of- disaster.

"Just wanted to take you out for lunch." He said, the corners of his mouth turning up a bit. Lissa was most definitely beautiful, even if she had just woken up and parts of her hair stuck up all over.

Lissa, having realized the state she was in, led Fang to her desk chair, giving a quick prayer of thanks that her roommate wasn't present. "Give me five minutes, and I'm yours for lunch."

As the redhead made a dash for the bathroom, Fang did realize the message when she said, "I'm yours for lunch". There was no emphasis there when she had said that out loud, but the words themselves stressed on the meaning loud and clear. Lissa obviously had plans for the afternoon, like hanging out with her friends or doing a little homework, but he felt that it was in no way related to that. It was like Lissa told him- maybe even ordered him- to settle the score with his best friend.

Well he'd have to settle the score with Lissa first.

Lissa had finally arrived in five minutes, as expected, showered and in a pretty, flowy dress. "Now that I'm presentable, lead the way." She said with a smile, offering her arm.

Fang got up and together they walked in silence towards the outskirts of campus, where several coffee shops and restaurants lined the streets. The ambience, what with all possible drunken people already home or at their dorms curing their hangovers, was too luxurious to not enjoy. And there was that part where they both thought that any attempt at conversation might lead to the previous night's date and might end up ruining their lunch.

Even if Fang did sort of hate Lissa a little after she pushed off the chance of him offering to go steady with her, seeing Lissa with a bed head was something he liked too much to make him not hate her at that moment. So he pulled out her chair for her, asked her what she wanted, and they ate lunch in silence. It wasn't like they were best- friends- turned- strangers on an awkward lunch date; the happy banter and the weird jokes they shared were still there. But there was this dread in knowing that Lissa also knew what exactly they were here for.

"I'm assuming that we're here to talk about… last night." Lissa said, tracing patterns on the tablecloth, her empty plate pushed to one side.

"I'm seriously hoping I'm not offending you, because the only way I know how to start this is…" He took a deep breath, and watched as her long, slender finger traced flowers and spirals. "You're crazy."

Lissa stopped tracing and looked up, laughing a little. "I have to say, that's a nice way to put it. You know what? That's pretty much what Brigid told me last night."

Fang sort of found it weird that Lissa was both not offended and sharing that she had a probably heart- to- heart talk with her cousin about it. "So… why, really? Because the tension you were talking about is nonexistent."

"It does exist," she replied with a smile. "You're not looking hard enough. You're not sure of things. But maybe you should ask Max. Maybe she's sure."

Lissa got up, giving the cue that she had to go. "I'm supposed to meet up with Brigid in a couple of minutes." And before Fang could reply, she went on. "You seriously have to stop pestering me about this. I'm still here, okay? I'm just saying, that if Max was one of your options, then you should choose her because she's the better one."

All that Fang could say to that was a meek, "You're still crazy."

She grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "I know. Now go look for her." She said, walking out of the restaurant, giving a small wave to Fang from outside. He watched as she disappeared into another street, and he paid the bill and went back to campus.

All he could think was that he failed miserably at trying to convince Lissa to change her mind. If this was scored, it would have probably been 10- 0, with Fang having nothing to say aside from the "you're crazy" card which Lissa didn't take much to heart.

How would the score between him and Max end up? And how was it going to be scored, anyway?

He found Dylan flirting with a girl on one of the benches, and gave a little wave at the girl before approaching him. "Have you seen Max?"

"Last she told me she wanted to go out of campus." He replied, giving him a funny look, kind of like the look he gave yesterday when Fang asked if he thought there was any tension between him and Max. But his hands, in the meanwhile, were making the universal hand motions for _I need a wingman for at least five seconds_.

After saying thanks, and purposefully slipping out a remark on how much Dylan was very protective of his sister (chicks somehow dig that) he walked to Max's dorm, and found Angel lounging in the room she shared with Max.

"Hey, Ange, do you know where Max went?" He asked.

Angel turned to face him, and she gave the same funny look Dylan did. "Don't know exactly," she replied with a shrug. "Just told me she wanted to get away from all the hangover victims."

"Thanks. But why the look?"

The blonde squinted her eyes in reply. "I think you have something in your teeth."

Fang nodded, but once he got out of her sight, he checked his teeth. Nothing. There was definitely something going on. But he put that aside, focusing on the problem at hand. He wanted to get things over with as fast as possible.

_I'm taking a wild guess here._

* * *

As guessed, Max was, in fact, at the bridge that used to be the classroom for Intro to Girls 101.

Max had a habit of stealing Fang's "secret getaways". It started when they first confirmed their friendship back in high school, and Fang showed her this small patch of grass behind the swing sets at the park. She used to joke that that was where Fang used to "update his list of girls to hit on" (but really, he just utilized that spot to do homework without his parents constantly bugging him). And the week after that, when Fang headed there on his usual schedule to get out of the house, Max had already beaten him there. The same thing happened when he took her to a coffee shop he liked to hang out at sometimes during weekends: he bumped into Max the next time he went there. The cycle repeated whenever he told or showed her some of the places where he liked to hang out alone.

Not that Fang hated that. It was cool with him, but it got frustrating at times whenever they would have a fight and Max would get to the latest getaway first. Other than that, he was sort of glad that he and Max would have the same taste, since she also liked hanging out alone in those places. Just like now; Max was staring blankly at the view, her legs dangling over the edge.

Fang walked silently (although that was sort of redundant, since according to Max he never makes a noise when he walks), trying not to wobble the bridge too much. He knelt down behind Max, who still had no idea he was there, and prepared for one of those deep breaths he took whenever he wanted someone's hairs at the back of their neck to stand on end.

It was the usual again. Max turned- though not in too much surprise, since Fang was the only person she knew who did that- and tried to hide a smile at their inside joke. "Quit breathing, will you?" She asked, shoving him back slightly.

Fang pulled up a corner of his mouth a little, and adjusted himself so that he sat beside Max, though wary about the distance. He put about two feet of space between them and started staring at whatever Max had been staring before.

"Are you getting attached to my getaways again?" Fang asked jokingly, though his gaze was still fixed on the horizon. But he did see the face Max directed at him.

"This isn't another one of your getaways, this is _my_ classroom." She said, and Fang swore he saw her stick out her tongue to prove how logical her answer was. "I mean, the lessons were more of torture for my part, but this place is too damn pretty and peaceful to not use as a getaway whenever I want to contemplate the meaning of life and stuff."

He merely nodded, and they lapsed into a silence. How was Fang going to tell her? Was he even going to tell her?

"So, how was your hot date with Lissa last night?" She asked.

_Way to bring it up, Max_. But did he really want to go all vague on her? Maybe he should be straightforward; that way, it would sound like Fang thought it was a joke even if it was nothing like that. Besides, Max was his best friend, and as much as it sort of hurt, he knew that there would be no way she would complicate things because of the liking- guys- policy and all that.

"Not exactly what I planned out." Fang settled. He was starting to lose his nerve, but was also somehow convincing himself to get on with it. Max was his best friend; she told him pretty much everything and he was determined to also tell her pretty much everything. _Come on you idiot this is not going to be complicated, this is Max_.

"In what way?"

"She said she though there was something going on between the two of us."

"Well isn't the two of us being best friends considered as something?"

"You know what I'm talking about. She said something about…"

_She said something about both of us unknowingly liking each other in a different way._

Fang didn't get to finish the sentence. All of a sudden, Max stood up and slowly walked away, leaving him quite appalled.

"Max, could you at least let me finish that?" He called out.

"I'm leaving before this shit gets more complicated."

So maybe he was wrong about assuming that there was no way she would complicate things.

* * *

**I'm pretty sure it's been a while since I wrote a chapter like this: a lot less conversations and a lot more meaningful internal monologues.**

**Classes started again, but I swear I am trying my best to update.**

**See you :))**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR.**

* * *

_Max tried her best to not trip over herself as she tiptoed past Angel, who was fast asleep. Even with all the coffee inside of her, she felt like collapsing then and there on the thin carpet. Immunity to caffeine was something she shared with Dylan._

_By the time she was greeted by the comfort of her own bed, she was ready to fall asleep yet at the same time was wide awake. And it was because of feeling something when she wasn't supposed to._

_Why did she subconsciously choose to like, of all people, "the hottest asshole in the world"? And during a time he was going out with someone else, no less. The best friend part, she could slightly comprehend- that one was so clichéd that it had some truth in it. But what was hard to understand was how she still liked him even after turning off that switch long ago, even if she knew that liking him or any other guy would be a total waste._

_A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and seeing that Angel was too deep in sleep to respond, she got up and answered it, only to recognize the silhouette of a very familiar redhead. The very one that was supposed to be in a romantic rooftop date that should still be going on that night. Max blinked, and inspected her to make sure it was really Lissa. The weird thing was that she definitely wasn't wearing any romantic- rooftop- date- appropriate clothes. Unless you counted pajamas in that category, Max had a weird feeling that the date had been over for a while._

_Seeing that Max was too confused to say anything, Lissa cleared her throat. "I was hoping we could talk."_

_Max stayed quiet as she shut the door behind her and walked towards the empty common room, Lissa by her side. It was only when they sat down across each other on the couch that she decided to speak up. "How was the hot date? Are you guys official now?" She managed to ask while avoiding a lump in her throat._

_Lissa took a deep breath. "That's the thing. I sort of talked Fang out of that."_

_Max had sort of gotten thrown away by that remark. "Why? Did he do or say something weird?" She asked, her brain going over countless possibilities of what might have happened during that date._

"_He didn't do anything. See, we had this talk. About you."_

_Oh. So Lissa was like one of those flings Fang had in high school that wanted her out of his life while said fling was there. "If you think it's best that Fang and I stop being friends, then fine." She said, beginning to stand up, only to be pulled back down by Lissa._

"_No, nothing like that. I think it's best that you and Fang stop being friends, but start being more than friends."_

_It took one whole minute for Max to process what the redhead had told her. "That's… deranged." She managed to choke out. "I mean, I do understand what you were trying to say there, but the way you twisted my quote, not the best. It sort of sounds like you're forcing us or something." She added with a small smile._

_Lissa let out a little chuckle, but all Max could think about was how Fang's almost girlfriend was right there less than two feet away telling her that she thought she and Fang should hook up. During a time when Max had the same thoughts yet at the same time thought the opposite of that. It was way more disturbing in so many levels._

"_You're kidding, right?" Max asked._

_Lissa shook her head in reply. "I don't know if you've seen it, Max, but there's tension between the two of you. Like you guys don't know if you should be friends or something more."_

"_Just so it wasn't clear, Lissa, I don't have feelings for Fang."_

"_How about _had _feelings for Fang? You can tell me the truth."_

_Was she really going to tell her? Max started to think about it, but then realized that it wouldn't matter because Lissa was the one convincing her that she and Fang should be together in the first place. "You want me to be brutally honest? Because the answer to that is yes, I did have feelings for Fang."_

"_Then I think the two of you should go for each other."_

"_It's not as easy as that, Lissa."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Both of us have this weird history with romance. His is actually pretty normal, for your average hot high school student, but mine is sort of bizarre. To start, let me explain my policy towards liking guys." She replied, and spent the next couple of minutes explaining why she thought liking guys and having crushes was a waste of time even if she was genetically engineered to do so._

"_But Fang told me that you've been on a couple of dates with a handful of guys."_

"_Each and every one of them was with a different guy. Usually they were on bets or were trying to get on my good side, and I'd end up unintentionally finding out the ulterior motive before the date was over. And by that time I realized that no guy was ever going to like me just because so I just gave up and so the policy about liking guys was born."_

"_I'm pretty sure Fang would see through that. He knows you so well."_

_Before Max could stop herself, she started narrating the closet story when Fang made a move and Max suddenly had feelings for him but then decided not to. She didn't even know why she was telling it in the first place, seeing that it had nothing to do with what Lissa had said. It ended with Lissa just looking at Max, like she had suddenly produced the cure to cancer._

_Instead of commenting on the closet story, Lissa stood up. "I should probably go and let you get back to sleep. But just so you know, Max, Fang is also trying to figure things out. And when he does, promise me you'll go for it."_

_That was just another one of the promises she couldn't keep._

* * *

Angel watched her roommate enter the room, not even pausing as she flopped unceremoniously onto her bed, face down. Max's twin brother, Dylan, followed soon after. He gave a shrug in apology of his and his sister's sudden intrusion and sat down on Max's desk chair.

"Did she tell you what happened?" She asked, putting her textbook down and sitting at the head of Max's bed.

"I didn't understand it, really. She just came running up to me, and the only thing she said the whole time I followed her here was something about leaving before shit gets complicated."

"Where did she just come from?"

"I don't know, actually." Dylan said, forehead scrunched up in thought.

"Based on how she's acting right now, we'll assume that Fang was also there."

"Yeah, come to think about it, Fang was asking me if I had seen Max this morning." Angel expected Max to groan at the mention of her best- friend- but- hopefully- yet- not- hopefully- more, but Max remained silent. Though she could tell that she was awake, just by the way she gripped the sheets and pillows so tightly. "Wherever she went, Fang probably knew about it, too." He added.

"Well the venue doesn't exactly matter now." She said, combing a few strands of Max's hair in an attempt to get some sort of reaction. She still didn't budge. "What we need to find out is what happened."

That was supposed to be the cue for which Max would slowly sit up with a small groan of defeat, and then re- tell the story all the while randomly picking on her nails, looking up the ceiling, pinching the bridge of her nose, and doing a face- palm in the case of sudden realizations. But there was no sign of movement.

"Max…" Dylan started in his no- nonsense voice, the one that made him sound like an older and wiser brother.

"Max…" Angel said, in her own no- nonsense voice. When Max _still_ wasn't getting up and narrating the events, Angel sighed. "Did you or did you not go here and drag Dylan with you so you could get help from either or both of us?"

"I just feel really stupid. _I am really stupid._" Max said in a small voice, her arms slowly moving to help her get up. Angel and Dylan watched for a couple of minutes as Max adjusted herself at the head of her bed so that she sat beside Angel and across from Dylan, who was still sitting on the desk chair.

"We'll be the judge of that." Dylan said reassuringly. "Do you want to tell us what happened?"

Max let out a small groan and hid her head and her hands as she retold the story of Fang casually confronting her, and Max walking out.

"I think I'm going to take back my reassuring comment." Dylan said, inching closer to Max's bed so that he was on her other side.

"I know walking out wasn't the right way to solve that. But it was the only way I knew how to do right." She said, lifting her head up and sighing.

"It's sort of confusing though. Why would Fang bring _that_ up?" Dylan asked.

This time, Max retold the story of what happened way after the coffee rendezvous with Dylan: the talk with Lissa.

"So the whole time Fang was trying to confront you, you somehow knew that it was going to happen sooner or later?" Angel asked, slowly coming into a realization of sorts.

Max nodded slowly, like she was afraid that her fourteen- year- old child prodigy of a roommate was going to give her a sermon. Although, Angel had to admit that she was.

"You're afraid." She said, narrowing her eyes at the arrival of a conclusion.

"You're afraid that he'll say no." Dylan said, joining Angel at the moment of enlightening.

"But you're even more afraid that he'll say yes." She added.

"Well sue me for being a coward." Max said. "But I just don't know what to do about anything. If he says 'no', then fine, nothing would be changing that much, even if he doesn't want to be friends with me anymore. But how about if he says 'yes'? Then what? We kiss? We ride a figurative white horse into happily ever after?"

"So you're afraid of the unknown." Angel summarized. "You hate not knowing what to do about something that fully involves you."

"Okay, fine, I do."

Dylan moved closer and embraced her sister in an awkward, one- armed hug. "Well, I'm sure Fang knows as much as you do about this. And I'm sure that he's also afraid of facing the unknown. But then the two of you could be facing the unknown together, and I don't think we could have it any other way."

As Max opened her mouth to say something that was probably meant to disprove the previous statement, Angel and Dylan exchanged looks; it was going to take a lot to fully convince her to toughen up and face Fang.

* * *

Yes, Fang was totally wrong about assuming that there was no way Max would complicate things.

After his best friend's walkout, he sat down by himself and tried to process what had just happened for a couple of minutes. Yes, he was stupid for doing that, but still… saying that it was unexpected was an understatement. So only part of that exit could be blamed for his stupidity.

He got up, walked away from the bridge, and back to area of the dorms to do the only thing a guy knew when faced with a situation like this: consult his bros. He found Iggy and Gazzy chilling out on the floor in the middle of their beds, watching an episode of _Star Wars_ and munching on popcorn.

Gazzy glanced up from the screen, and seeing that a slightly- sweating- and- maybe- out- of- breath- from- speed- walking Fang was there, paused the movie. Iggy was about to open his mouth in protest, but also happened to look up and see Fang.

"Is there still a code red on the friendzone?" Gazzy asked with an arched eyebrow.

"That might be an understatement." Fang replied, grabbing a one of the boys' desk chair and pulling it up so that he sat in front of the partners in crime.

"Okay, you can begin by explaining what happened." Iggy started, lifting the laptop off the floor and placing it on Gazzy's bed. He and The Gasman sat on his bed, bowl of popcorn still cradled in his arms.

"Max and I had hung out a while ago for a bit."

"So, Iggy's prediction was right?" Gazzy asked. "What did she say?"

"To quote, Max said, 'I'm leaving before this shit gets more complicated.'"

The duo both wore looks of surprise on their faces, and Fang explained how he had tried to bring up the topic casually, only that Max left before he could get things over with and have business settled.

"How did Max know?" Iggy asked, offering some popcorn to Fang. The latter took a handful, and in between bites, said, "I was about to tell her anyway, anyone could've gotten the message before the actual part."

The Gasman shook his head. "No. What I think Iggy means is that, how did Max know that things could get complicated?" He asked. "You brought the topic casually so that it wouldn't sound like a big deal to you, so how did she find out that it was?"

Fang tried to rack his brain, but there was no complete thought was showing. "I'm trying to rack my brain for ideas, but right now, I'm settling with the fact that she's my best friend and knows me that much."

The duo shook their heads at the same time, albeit unsynchronized. "Still, there's something sort of… off… about that. It just doesn't sound right." Iggy said. Then out of the blue, he and Gazzy exchanged glances, like they suddenly realized something.

"The two of you know something I don't, don't you?" Fang asked.

"We know as much as you do; maybe even less." Iggy replied. "But we're taking this really wild guess." He added, nudging The Gasman in the shoulder as a sign that he should be the one to say it out loud.

The Gasman took a deep breath. "We think Max might somehow be in the same situation."

Fang arched his eyebrows, in search of an explanation.

"Remember, we're not exactly sure." Gazzy added. "But somehow you guys are on the same page, and not just for the reason that the two of you are best friends. I mean, look: you didn't want to complicate things, and she didn't want to either."

Iggy nodded in agreement. "We're just saying. But we're not saying that's it. We're just as lost and confused about this as much as you are."

"Although we have more wisdom to offer than you do." The Gasman added in an attempt to lighten up the seriousness.

Fang didn't exactly understand Iggy's and Gazzy's explanation, although a part of him could somehow comprehend what they were trying to say. It felt weird; in a way, everything was like the closet story all over again, no matter how overused that simile was at the moment: a portion of them feeling the same way, Fang trying to do something about it, Max rejecting it in a moment of something mixed with a pinch of fear.

He got up from the chair. "I'll come back later, I sort of have to do something important but related to this."

Fang ran out of the room, out of the building, and to the other dorm where he had spent almost half of his free time at. He stopped to catch his breath, and as the knob turned, hoped that he was knocking on the right door.

* * *

"I was lying."

If there was an award for people who knocked on doors and said random things at the people who answered them, Lissa thought, that would definitely go to Fang.

"And I have no idea what you're saying." She said. "Do you have to come in?" She added, opening the door wider. Conveniently, her roommate was still absent from the scene, and so were Brigid and Nudge.

Fang shook his head. "I just needed to come by and say that."

"Say what? That you were lying? Well, what exactly were you lying about?"

"Remember when I said that I thought I had feelings for Max? I was lying. I _knew_ I had feelings for her. I knew all along."

While Lissa was dying a little inside knowing that they weren't meant to be, she still smiled him. "I don't exactly remember you telling me that, but anyway, I'm pretty sure that's a good thing."

Fang smiled back (though Lissa thought that a smile for him was barely noticeable in the normal world) and crushed Lissa in a hug. "Thanks." He whispered.

"Fang, do me a favor, though." Lissa said once they had pulled away from each other.

"Anything."

"Don't go to Max. Not yet. The two of you have been going through this at the same pace, and if you tell her that now, I think that would make it the two craziest days of her life. Too crazy for her to absorb. Give her a day or two, and then when you think the timing's right, go ahead. Okay?"

Fang nodded, seeing Lissa's point. But that advice brought his brain back to Max, and it seemed only yesterday that she was giving out advice on how to pick up chicks in a non- player- ish way.

"We're still friends, right?" Fang asked as Lissa was about to close.

Lissa was forced to swallow her bitterness and answer with a bright, "of course", but she didn't stay long enough to watch him run to his _real_ destiny.

* * *

Dylan came into the room he shared with Fang in time to see the said roommate dash inside like a madman and suddenly stop in front of him. And he also came in time for Fang to profess his (probably) undying love for Max to him. Although it wasn't exactly as dramatic as it sounded.

"Where'd you come from? And why are you all sweaty like that?" Dylan had asked once Fang had arrived and was stopping to catch his breath.

"I like Max, okay? I just want to be with her all the time and stuff but I don't just want her to be my best friend. Nothing really changed since you saw us in that closet."

While Dylan was still processing what Fang had just said, the latter threw himself on the bed facedown, and told no one in particular, "there, I said it".

"Fang…" Dylan started, and it got enough of his roommate's attention for him to sit up and look at him.

"There's no stopping the two of you now, is there?" He went on. "But please-"

"Give Max a day or two?" Fang finished for him.

He nodded. "I mean, just last night she admitted that she was feeling something towards you and less than twelve hours ago, you were trying to confront her on a bridge. I'm not sure that it could get any crazier, but if you try and drop the bomb tonight, it probably would."

"I understand; I mean, it's been pretty crazy for me, too." He said, and started telling his own side of the story starting with that date with Lissa. Dylan agreed that he and Max were facing the same levels of craziness.

"Fang, I really mean it when I say this." Dylan told him, and there was a short pause that felt like it lasted for an hour. "Go get her."

* * *

**Hey, I meant it when I swore that I was trying to update regularly. Anyway, I think you guys know why it doesn't matter as much anymore…**

**Enjoy (hopefully).**


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own MR.**

* * *

_Everyone was trying to forget about the closet incident: Fang was trying to forget that he had accidentally pulled Max in and tried to kiss her; Max was trying to forget that she had just let herself get pulled in, and actually sort of subconsciously be fine with Fang's attempt to kiss her; Dylan was trying to forget that he had actually walked in on his twin sister and her best friend about to kiss._

_Everyone's motives were good enough, but it was too much of a story to actually forget. And that made the next day awkward._

_Max and Fang both arrived late, the same minds thinking that they could avoid each other by getting to school sixty seconds before the bell rang. Not communicating in shared classes was easy enough. But, lunch was a problem. Normal best friends would avoid each other even during lunch. And Max and Fang were considered by many a quirky pair, both thinking that no one would dare bring up the topic. Even if both wanted to bring it up for the sake of closure._

"_Hey." Max said, setting her tray down on the table, across Fang who acknowledged her with a nod and did the same. Thankfully Dylan followed and eased the tension by demanding a dollar from either of them so he could by a soda._

"_I'm still wondering why you're putting up with unknown cafeteria food when your mom's pretty much the best cook in the world." Max said, playing with the red sludge that was probably meant to be the day's pasta special._

"_And I feel the same towards you." Fang replied._

_Fang had realized too late that Max had also realized that Fang's words sounded like they were meant for a different statement, like they were supposed to be a reply to something else entirely. And right as they felt everything was about to burst. Dylan called over Max to get help in retrieving his dollar. In the second that Max stood up and turned around, Dylan gave Fang a look that was meant to be helpful. Dylan knew; he was trying to help Fang not lose her, sort of like what he had told him yesterday afternoon._

_He seriously had to let things go._

_He quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket, fingers flying over the keys in record speed. And right as he was notified that his message was sent, he received a new one. From Max._

Let's never speak of this again.

_Whether it was a reply to his message or a different one, Fang did not dare to ask._

* * *

Fang had always wondered what would've happened if all the unspoken words burst out and Dylan didn't stop them, or maybe if Dylan just didn't talk to him that afternoon in the first place. Or maybe if Dylan didn't open the door just in time for Max and Fang to begin regretting their decisions. Though he rarely thought about that alternate universe, it was a thought that was hard to let go of. For a pair of words, "what if" was tough to beat.

Almost five years of knowing each other, about three years of best- friend- ship, a closet incident, and one Redheaded Wonder later, Fang was back to the summer in junior year, when he realized that he really did have feelings for her, that his brain was probably in too much denial to make sense of any of it during the past. It was weird, honestly. He forced Max to teach him the fine art of regular courtship for weeks, when the girl he was doing it for wasn't going to end up with him anyway.

Right then and there, Fang was processing Dylan's previous words. _Go get her_. Was it just him, or was Dylan actually giving him his blessing? It was too late now to turn things back to "just friends" anyway, considering what had happened. He was betting that this was going to be an even bigger story than the closet incident.

"Yeah, it's what you think it is." Dylan replied with a smile and a small nod upon seeing Fang's reaction. Both of them sat down on their own beds, Dylan getting prepared to catch up on sleep while Fang was just sitting there. "I don't think things will end with the two of you still being friends."

"So either we'll be more than friends or we won't be friends at all?" Fang asked with a hint of pessimism upon realizing the alternate conclusion.

"Pretty much, yeah. Although I am betting on the first one."

Fang lay down on his bed. "How am I supposed to break things to her? I mean, yeah, she probably knows by now about how I feel, but still. I think I'm supposed to do some confirmation for that."

"I don't know exactly, but I think you should just say it; it'll all come out naturally, anyway." Dylan replied with a yawn. "With that much emotion coming from you, that would be enough for Max."

Dylan had a point, though Fang was still trying to find where and what it was. But he knew that he didn't need to write a speech in his head, like that mushy part of him knew the exact words to say but wasn't about to reveal it just yet. His roommate switched off the light, the shared lamp in between their beds providing enough light for him to climb in and start to snore in record time.

"Erm, Dylan?"

"Yeah?" He mumbled back in reply.

"Would it be awkward if I thanked Lissa?"

"Yeah. But she deserves it, anyway."

Before he turned off the light and went to sleep, Fang grabbed the small pad of paper and the pen on the bedside desk. In big, bold letters, he wrote down _Things to get for Lissa:_

_1. A lot of lilies (that meaning more than a dozen)_

_2. Chocolates/ Nutella_

_3. A new mix CD_

_4. Thank you note_

* * *

"_Remind me why I'm here at the mall with the fine Martinez- Ride twins again?" Fang asked, watching Dylan as he searched for the color of the shirt he wanted, which, according to Mrs. Martinez- Ride, should match his eyes._

"_Because Dylan's going to the prom. And I'm supposed to supervise him." Max replied with a weary sigh as she sat down on one of the cushiony seats for the customers._

"_Isn't he a bit too old for supervision?"_

"_Tell that to our mom."_

"_No thank you." He said, knowing how easy it would be for Max and Dylan's mother to take him down in debate._

"_Also, I need male opinion on the dress I'm supposed to buy."_

"_Your mom's making you buy a dress? This is worse than I thought."_

"_Well I'd hate to ruin the dress code and not really ruin the night of everyone else's lives."_

"_Wait a second, why would you need _male_ opinion? Don't you have Dylan for that?"_

"_The only female opinion I can get as soon as possible is from my mother, who will either make me buy a hideous dress or hide her feelings of contempt if I _'fall in love'_ with a hideous dress." She replied, forming air quotations with her finger as she said the words _fall in love_. "Plus, Dylan's my brother, so that doesn't count."_

"_Well, aren't I sort of brotherly, too?"_

_Max opened her mouth to say something, but quickly hesitated and changed her words. "In a way, yeah."_

_Fang could tell what she was thinking about. The closet story, once again. What did Max really mean when she said, _in a way_? Was that to imply that there was still something lingering in the air that was from the old, musky, and tension- filled atmosphere of the supply closet? After that afternoon, he thought he already knew where he really stood in Max's perspective, but now, the paranoid part of him started gearing up and overanalyzing._

"_So why do I have to do that again?" He asked once he realized that Max was still waiting for some sort of indication that he didn't zone out._

"_You know Dylan will be really embarrassed if I ask him if a dress makes my ass look too big. And you're pretty much the only resource left."_

"_Fine." He said with a weary sigh of his own._

"_Wait, why aren't you buying a suit or something? Aren't you going to prom?"_

_He shook his head. "I have a feeling that the angry mob will only get bigger if I arrive at the scene."_

"_Not if you're with me."_

_Suddenly realizing what Max had implied, Fang turned to look at her with a curious look on his face. "Did Maxine Martinez- Ride just ask me to accompany her to prom?"_

_Max made a show of grabbing an artificial flower from the store display and kneeling in front of Fang. "John 'Fang' Karas, will you do the honor of being my not- date to prom?"_

_Fang acted all girly and fake- blushed as he retrieved the rose from Max. "Well, I better pick out a suit, too." He said, standing up and walking over to Dylan._

* * *

Max, Fang, Dylan, and pretty much everyone else who saw Max and Fang make their entrance knew that Max was there to supervise her brother, and that Fang was there to accompany Max in her task of supervision, so fortunately no assumptions were made. And while a small group or two had occasionally tried to piss of Fang for the sake of their friends or dates, the night didn't turn out to be so bad, after all.

If she hadn't asked Fang to go with her, Max would've probably spent the rest of the night staring off into distance as Dylan danced with his date. But since Fang was there, there were only few dull moments. He did the courtesy of being her first dance and last dance; he went dancing with her during the fast songs and joked with her during the slow songs; at one point they decided to knock off the boredom by hiding one of each pair of heels left by various girls near the dance floor. And when Dylan and his date wanted to go to a diner to sober up before finally going home, Max and Fang sat at a nearby table playing with their food.

Max had always wondered if it would feel the same if ever she asked him to be her _real_ date.

In the end, Dylan and Angel managed to convince her to give it a chance, to try and dwell off to the unknown. Compared to Angel, Max was no witty debater, no matter how good she had become thanks to pessimism.

"Fang is your best friend." Angel had told her. "If he really knew you, then he would know that you don't know jack about being in a relationship, even if he asked you to do all those lessons. If he really wanted to be with you, then he would be prepared to take your relationship- clueless- self under his wing, albeit he's slightly less clueless than you are."

"And you cannot argue with a fourteen- year- old child prodigy." Dylan said, nodding in agreement with what Angel said.

"Well, what am I supposed to do now?" She asked.

"Why don't you rest for a day or two?" Dylan suggested. "It's been a crazy couple of days, and your brain is probably on overdrive right now. You'll need to calm down first."

"Well, who's going to speak up first? Should I go to Fang or something? Or do you think he'll be approaching me?"

"You're the person who knows him the most. So what would he most probably do?" Angel asked.

"You're right with that one. Seeing that when he asked out Lissa when she also liked him, I'm guessing he might go first."

"There you have it." She said. "So get some rest for a day or two, and if he ever approaches me or Dylan, we'll be sure to push him in the right direction."

Max gave Dylan a look that said _coffee run_, and as they stood up, Angel thought for a moment and called out to them as they were at the door.

"I hope the two of you don't mess things up this time."

* * *

_**A couple of days later**_

This was it. Or at least he felt like this was it.

How does one person prepare for confrontation? For him to admit his weakness of being clueless about proper dating and to get lessons, it took three arm wrestling matches. For him to ask Lissa out, it only took a warning glare. But how about now, that Max was supposed to be the effect and not the cause?

There was no training montage for this, no scene where he'd rehearse his lines and "train" with his bros. For the past couple of days, he did what he normally would: attend class, do- or try to do- homework, and get a lot of sleep. All the while he waited for something, anything, that would tell him that it was time to face the music.

Oddly enough, he had thought of confronting her late at night. Not because he would be busy for the afternoon and it was the same with Max, but because he just did. After all, there was nothing more romantic than a night under the stars, was there? That is, if the scene was going to turn romantic.

"Where are you going?" Dylan asked as Fang grabbed his jacket and headed towards the door.

"I just need a walk." He replied, hic childish side thinking that admitting to Dylan that he was going to face Max might jinx things.

He actually didn't know where Max would be at that time of the evening; she had a habit of being impulsive. At times that he would sneak out in the middle of the night to get some peace and quiet whenever his relatives were in town, Max would have beaten him to the latest sanctuary. And most times she was there for no actual reason, though at some times she would admit to not being able to sleep. That night, he took his chance and knocked on Max and Angel's door.

"What is- Oh, hey." Angel said, looking up and rubbing her eyes to see Fang at the door. "You need anything?"

"Is Max there?"

Angel shook her head and opened the door wider as proof that Max wasn't hiding from him.

"Do you have any idea where she is?" He asked. Angel turned away from Fang and shuffled through Max's desk and drawers. He didn't exactly know what she was looking for, but once she had opened the right drawer and stuck her hand in it to shuffle through the contents, her eyes lit up and she ran across the room to her own things. When she returned to the doorway, she handed Fang a key.

The appearance of the key and its ridges felt familiar to him. "Is it just me, or does this key look like the one to that one Science building Lissa and I had a date on?"

Angel grinned. "It is, actually."

"I thought you returned the keys?"

"We did, actually, but then we realized that the rooftop there is way better than the rooftop at your dorm, so we stole it and made duplicates."

"Oh. Thanks."

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" Angel asked, her smile turning from an eager grin to a soft, happy one.

He nodded. "Wish me luck."

Fang didn't make a sound as he climbed all four sets of stairs, and if possible, he made even less as he opened the door and stepped out to the rooftop, although all that climbing brought the beginnings of heavy breathing. He remained standing where he was, near the door, and for the next minute watched as Max watched the night sky.

He took a few steps forward, and even if he held his breath as he came nearer, Max was that good in sensing him.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hey." He greeted in the same tone. "Angel led me here, if you must know." He added. Max still had her back turned to him, still looking at the view of campus even if the (hopefully) love of her life was standing less than a foot away from him.

"So, what's up?" She asked.

"We both know what's up. But I guess I have to say things anyway. Maxine Martinez- Ride, I like you. Not just as a friend; more than best friends, and even more than super best friends. And while it has taken me about three years to realize that my feelings for you were never gone, I'm willing to make up for everything."

At first Max said something, but then she spoke up. "John 'Fang' Karas, I like you. Not just as a friend; more than best friends, and even more than super best friends. But it took me three years to _really_ fall for you."

"Should I ask why?"

"When I hurried out of that closet the last time, when I walked away from the bridge the last time, it was because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I didn't want to ruin anything."

Fang reached for Max's hand, and firmly held it in his. Max gave him a squeeze in reply. "I do want to be with you, in the way that's supposed to imply that we're more than friends, but during those times I didn't want to destroy everything else in between when it's all over. But right now, you're just holding my hand over here and it just feels so good and I just don't want to let go, and not just of your hand, but of everything else. I just don't want to let go."

"So don't." He breathed in reply.

Max turned to face him. Her eyes weren't exactly twinkling under the moonlight, but those brown eyes were still so deep and full of emotion. She kept her gaze on him and her hand in his. Then she smiled.

"Who'd thought those lessons would go to waste?" She asked with a small smile. "All that work and in the end Lissa just convinced us that we should be together."

"It wasn't a waste." Fang replied with a small smile of his own. "If it weren't for those lessons, then I wouldn't have told you all of this. I wouldn't have gotten you."

* * *

**THIS CHAPTER IS SPECIAL. Why is it special?**

**1. This is a post prom chapter. As in I published it after my first prom. (Yes, prom season is a lot earlier here.)**

**2. This is the last chapter.**

**Yeah, that's right. You just read the ending. You can go ahead and make up your own conclusions, like if you want to live your dream of having them kiss right after that conversation or something.**

**It was fun writing this story, and when I looked back I realized that it was a lot better than HOOML, my writing going from mediocre to slightly less mediocre. I want to thank all the people who took the time to read and review and appreciate, even if there was that unplanned hiatus and all.**

**SHAMELESS ADVERTISING CORNER**

**So… I have a favor to ask: don't remove this story from your alerts. I'm working on another MR project, though I'm going to confess that it will take more than a couple of weeks to finish. I know that some put me on author alert, but let's just say that his one's going to be a lot different. (Hint: It will not (and cannot) be put up on FFN.) BUT, I might also put out a new story here sooner or later.**

**See you in an indefinite amount of time :))**


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